All in Santa Barbara

Glitches & Glitter: Evelyn Contreras

While in graduate school in Texas, California-born artist Evelyn Contreras studied the human-made landscape of her home state via the lens of the Internet. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic limited her ability to travel back to Texas for a residency at the Rockport Center for the Arts, she reversed the direction of her digital gaze to Rockport’s post-Hurricane Harvey streetscapes from her desk in Santa Barbara. This virtual sojourn culminated in works featured at the Atkinson Gallery, Santa Barbara City College in 2022.

Revolutionary Nostalgia

All revolutions have the (un)fortunate side effect of altering much more than what they’ve initially set out to change. Whether we’re talking about a political act or a scientific breakthrough, a revolution begins with a magical act. What was previously seen as impossible, in a moment, is overcome. Spontaneous outbursts of mass movements (often accompanied by violence) cause major political upheavals, innovations in science and medicine cause humans to live longer or reach other planets, while artistic revolutions cause us to perceive and see in radically different ways. Revolutionary moments happen quickly. But their aftereffects can be felt for many years.