The Oxnard Plain Manifesto
By Jaime Bailon and Brian Paumier
Oxnard is a place rarely seen or understood by those who don’t live here. When you drive down the 101 through Santa Barbara and past Ventura you’re greeted by an expanse of farmland. “Between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara” is what people say, or “north of Malibu” if you’re trying to impress someone. A four-day trek through the Santa Monica Mountains up the coast, where the mountains become the sea, where half of our land is dedicated to growing food, where we turn beets into sugar and labor surrounds you as far as the eye can see.
When you see PJ’s Bikini Bar and the Santa Clara Chapel along El Camino Real, you will know where we are from. When the sweet smell of strawberries is punctuated by the smell of manure on a hot day, you’ll know where we are from.
Valerie J. Bower
The idea of synergy comes to mind when I think of The Oxnard Plain. Meeting at a time and place for a short time, existing there, then moving on—but documenting that, and letting it live in a container that’s easily accessible to people looking for community—filling voids, finding trap doors leading into open spaces, telling the stories of this region, the mundane and the daily depicted in some sort of beauty.
Everything The Oxnard Plain does is a collaboration between artists and an homage to the past. We understand and acknowledge the bias that we may bring to the process of publishing, curation and creating a visual identity, but as a collective we are here to serve our community and we are always listening, able to acknowledge that a lot of times we don’t know.
Spencer Moody
It’s an interesting thing creating printed matter when you hear talk that the world is moving the opposite way. We are aware of the space we take and the products we create. The zines we publish are meant to be ephemera. We try and publish everything as an open edition, so they don’t become collectible.
Ephemera and documentation of ephemera is how The Oxnard Plain came to be founded. From a realization that there is a lack of good historical resources that will endure the ether of the internet, and as a response to the unfortunate format of pop-up art events. Print is at an interesting crossroads. Books are still seen as sacred items and the means to produce books is easily within reach, yet many people don’t realize the impact print is still having on our society. By focusing on this niche, The Oxnard Plain is able to bring people together to help create a common visual vernacular.
Jaime Bailon
Kevin Novales
The Oxnard Plain is an artist-run organization fostering the development of emerging artists at critical moments in their practice. Through dynamic programming, access to workspace, mentorship and skills exchanges, The Oxnard Plain is a catalyst for innovative creation within contemporary art and self-publishing. Our core mission is to support and activate a vibrant community deeply engaged in the arts.
The Oxnard Plain exists in many forms: online at oxnardplain.com, through satellite exhibitions, as well as head-quarters at Carnegie Art Museum Studio Gallery in Oxnard. This long-term partnership began January 2018 with the help of Brian Paumier, artist/educator and museum board member. Since then we have provided workspace, digital lab access, and a range of programming from exhibitions and conversation series to a workspace residency program.
Our organization has provided artists with both working facilities and platforms for discussions as they develop their practice. With a strong commitment to education and local heritage, we showcase the works of young local art makers. The Oxnard Plain at The Basic Premise is a collaboration between commercial gallery and non-profit artist run space, attempting to bridge the gaps of the fragmented art world of Ventura County.
Vanessa Wallace-Gonzales
All ideas lead to a book, The Oxnard Plain at The Basic Premise is an extension of the book: the towering, yet intimate portraits of “Tempo” by Sean Maung; the grainy black and white photos by Valerie Bower; Kevin Novales’ meticulously flawed polaroids; Jaime Bailon’s small installations and Spencer Moody’s paintings and poetry. Books come off the wall. The mundane and daily seen is brought forth with unspeakable beauty.
Since planting roots with the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard, The Oxnard Plain is now the main funnel for programming, using group shows to help artists interested in having a studio practice. Vanessa Wallace-Gonzalez, our first resident artist, produced her solo show during a three-month residency that began from her participation in our inaugural group show. Vanessa works in collage and uses manipulated photographs, local flora and fauna.
“The Oxnard Plain” is on view from September 28 to October 19, 2019, at The Basic Premise, Ojai. “Vanessa Wallace-Gonzales: The Individuation” opens on November 9 at The Basic Premise, Ojai.
Cover art: Valerie J. Bower
