cover image: Chiura Obata, Evening Glow at Yosemite Waterfall, Yosemite National Park, 1930.
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, 1963.30.3126.23. Courtesy of the Obata Family.

Art Matters Lecture - Art In California with Jenni Sorkin

This introduction provides a "behind the book" talk, focusing on the distinctive role the state played in the history of American art, from early twentieth-century photography and Chicanx mural painting to the fiber art movement and beyond. Shaped by a compelling network of geopolitical influences―including waves of migration and exchange from the Pacific Rim and Mexico, the influx of African Americans immediately after World War II, and global immigration after quotas were lifted in the 1960s―California is a vibrant center of artistic activity, its influence extending far beyond its physical boundaries.

Art Matters is presented by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and is a premier lecture series intended for continuing adult education in the history of art. Our distinguished speakers come from the Santa Barbara area, as well as across the country, and occasionally, abroad. Art historians, curators, and conservators offer fascinating insights into their areas of specialization.