Half a century ago, president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law, thus protecting millions of acres of federal land from development. A national effort to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic law has been embraced by groups in the government, academia, and the nonprofit sectors. The Wildling Museum in Solvang is no different: The museum is offering a huge lineup of exhibits that celebrate wilderness history and showcase artists and artifacts.
“At the Wildling we really focus on the connection of art and nature, and all of our exhibits highlight the natural world in some way,” Wildling Museum assistant director Jessica McLoughlin said. “We feel that [by] showing artwork that is inspired by wilderness and wild places we can inspire greater understanding of nature and wild areas.”
Several of the exhibits include contemporary work, such as the panoramic photos by Jeff Jones in Preserving Santa Barbara’s Wild Lands, which showcase the San Raphael wilderness. Other exhibits, like Painting the Wilderness: John Fery and Contemporaries, showcase historical artifacts as well as original paintings that are more than 100 years old.
“As the national parks were started, the railroad companies paid artists to go out and paint these places to draw people to come out and see them,” McLoughlin said. “These paintings would hang in the ticket offices and railroad stations. We are really focusing on, as the national parks were established, how artists had a role in spreading the word about these places.”
The Wildling Museum, which moved to its current location last year, boasts three floors of gallery and community space. It has room for exhibits like Celebrating 50 Years of Wilderness—which includes maps of the country and county that show protected wilderness areas—and the exhibit Visions of the Night Sky: Artwork by Santa Ynez Valley Third Graders, which hangs in the museum’s Barbara Goodall Education Center, a space reserved for local artists.
“The Barbara Goodall Education Center is where we focus our community art gallery,” McLoughlin said. “Since we expanded, we are lucky enough to dedicate a space to that.”
The Wildling Museum also offers activities and fun for kids and families. The museum aims to attract locals of all ages to come celebrate the Wilderness Act’s anniversary, and even offers free admission for all children throughout the summer.
Get wild!
The Wildling Museum presents the following exhibits: Everett Ruess: Into the Wilderness through July 14; Painting the Wilderness: John Fery and Contemporaries and Preserving Santa Barbara’s Wild Lands through Sept. 15; Visions of the Night Sky: Artwork by Santa Ynez Valley Third Graders through Sept. 22; Selections by D.L. Engle through Nov. 3; and Celebrating 50 Years of Wilderness through December. Call for times. The Wildling Museum, 1511 Mission Drive, Suite B, Solvang. Cost is $5, free for children through summer. More info: 688-1082, info@wildlingmusuem.org, or wildlingmuseum.org.
Arts Editor Joe Payne likes to walk on the wild side. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 3-10, 2014.