Podtalk: Media Artist Lana Z. Caplan on Her New Exhibit, ‘Dunites’

BOSTON, MA – Meeting Lana Z. Caplan, as I did at the Chicago Underground Film Festival, is to meet a variety of perspective all in one dynamic artist. The veteran “lens based” media visionary has single-channel films, video, interactive installations and photography on her palette. Her latest exhibit – through September 29th, 2918 – is at Gallery NAGA in Boston, and it is entitled “Dunites.” The presentation will include photography, video, 35mm slides and a VR (Virtual Reality) installation, all inspired by the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes south of San Francisco.

This is not the first time Lana Z. Caplan has explored her art through a specific location. Beijing, Maui, Lake Como and the internet has fallen under her gaze, as much of her work “explores the implications of the social landscape on the physical landscape.” She has a MFA in Photography from the Massachusetts College of Art, and is currently an assistant professor at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, California, and her work has been show in museums and galleries in Beijing, Tucson, Mexico City, Brooklyn and Puerto Rico. Her films and videos have been shown at festivals in San Francisco, Edinburgh, Montreal, Havana, New York City and the Chicago Underground Film Festival

’Training Wheels’ by Lana Z. Caplan, in Her Exhibit ‘Dunites’
Photo credit: LanaZCaplan.com



The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes is yet another California hidden treasure, the second largest dune system in the state, south of San Francisco and encompassing 18 miles of coastline. Over the years it has served as a film set (the first film version of Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments” in 1923)… which was buried in the sand after its use; a commune of sorts from the 1920s to the ‘40s for the “Dunites”… a band of mystics, artists, nudists, writers and hermits; and as a conservation area fighting with ATV recreation enthusiasts.

In PART ONE of the HollywoodChicago.com Podtalk with Patrick McDonald, Media Artist Lana Z. Kaplan of “Dunites” goes into detail about her presentation, and talks about the vibrations of the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes in association with her exhibit.

In PART TWO, the artist reflects on the exhibit personality, her philosophy, her use of post-production tools and the overall inspiration.

[22]	By PATRICK McDONALD [23] Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com [22]