We’re in a museum which honors a huge part of Ventura County’s history. The Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula is home to tractors, farm tools, photos, and other tributes to its farming history.
But now, the giant 1880’s era structure is also hosting something very different: Art.
There are a half dozen art installations helping to celebrate the county’s 150th anniversary. They are works focused on the theme of home. The project is called Ventura County: The Place We Call Home.
One of them is a wall covered with six giant video screens, quickly flashing photos, videos and art centered around the county’s multicultural history.
The installation is the work of artist Oliver Krisch. It includes more than 600 photos, and 20 videos about the county's past and present.
"We call this the time machine," said Krisch. "Humanity evolves, and people change. The idea is that we found this in a barn in Ventura. It might be from the past, it might be from the future. We are seeing some memories of the past, and the present in Ventura County."
The artist said because our minds intermix images of the past and present, the images are also mixed in that way as well.
"In order to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Ventura County, we put together an exhibition that explores the concept of home. We wanted all the residents to come to a place and see themselves reflected, see the communities they lived in." said Museum of Ventura County Chief Curator Carlos Ortega. He came up with the concept.
Another installation intermixes photos of some of the county’s leaders over the decades, intermixed with mirrors decorated with Chumash art, and sayings.
Artist Maryann Parra said they were given the prompt for past, present, and future. "In the scheme of time seen through Chumash eyes, we don't see time as we do in modern-day society. Time is not linear. There's not a cap on it...it's an evolving theme."
In another part of the museum, there’s an art installation which literally embraces the “home” theme. You walk behind a wall, and there’s a living room, with furniture which looks like its straight out of the 1960’s. On the walls are images of some Ventura County families.
"We're thinking about what home might mean, thinking about resting places," said artist Trinh Mai. She said the idea is to get you thinking about our lives, and the lives of those who mean something to us.
Visitors are invited to become a part of the installation. You can take a picture with your cell pone, and upload it through a printer on site. The photos will then be added to the exhibition.
The exhibition is presented in both English and Spanish, to highlight the county’s multicultural history. The Museum of Ventura County Agricultural Museum is open from 11 am to 5 pm Thursdays through Sundays.
