A new photography exhibition about the Oceano Dunes has opened in the Special Collections and Archives Gallery in the Robert E. Kennedy Library at Cal Poly.
An opening reception for “Oceano—for seven generations” is set for Thursday, September 17 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the gallery.
Highlighting nearly a decade of research and outreach by artist Lana Z Caplan, associate professor of photography and video in Cal Poly’s art and design department, the project was first published as a book of the same title by Kehrer Verlag in 2023.
A selection of large and small-scale photographs is on view alongside a video projection, ephemera, and issues of the Dune Forum from the 1930s drawn from Special Collections.
Caplan has said the project was inspired by her local proximity to “the dunes made famous by Edward Weston.” As one of history’s most significant American photographers, Weston created iconic images of the California landscape, including those of the Oceano Dunes.
In search of Weston’s “luminous landscapes,” Caplan instead found ATVs, RVs, and motorcycles, and learned about the decades-long debate over usage and ownership of the dunes.
The exhibition is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will be on view through December 11.