“Inferno: One Man’s Journey of The Camp Fire through Art" • A Virtual Display of Art at GualalaArt.Org
Fire is an almost constant danger in northern California, and many of us have experienced it. Whether it's smoke from a distant fire, ash from something closer or simply(?) news reports from familiar parts of Mendocino County, our senses take notice and we start to wonder. For most of us we rarelky get to the full-blown worry stage. For others it's a much different story. One artist used hi artistic talent to help get through the devastation brought by the 2018 Camp Fire.
“A life once led by emotional turmoil wrought by the Camp Fire has now been healed through art’s power to visually share a story of hope.” That’s the lens through which Brian Holderman creates his art. Gualala Arts’ virtual exhibit—“Inferno: One Man’s Journey of The Camp Fire through Art”—is a multi-faceted exhibit of Holderman’s work including his paintings, photographs and now video clips.
All of this has evolved out of Brian Holderman’s experience of being trapped for eight-hours in the blaze that devastated Paradise California comes to life through 10 paintings, 20 photographs, and five video clips. On that fateful day, he was at work in Chico, but decided to return to Paradise to rescue his two dogs, including one that was Bear, a service dog at the school where he was the principal. “I knew the students would be devastated if anything happened to Bear. What I didn’t realize is the emotional affect the experience would have on me.”
A transplant to Gualala, Holderman made the move permanent after visiting the area and realizing the Mendonoma Coast was a place that could embrace him and help him express his healing through art. When he visited the area in April 2019 he realized that “This was the first time I felt I could truly breathe without the memories of the Camp Fire. This was such a healing place. During that weekend, I made the decision to move to the area. I lost everything in the Camp Fire and what better place to start over.”
The virtual exhibit has now added a video section featuring 7 clips that are just a click away. One clip shows the local Safeway store enveloped in flames. Another shows what appear to be little spot fires that in another time could be assumed to be decorative lights during the holidays. Perhaps nothing is more powerful than the view from Brian’s car as he drives up his old street and realizes the only one house is standing (not his) and all that’s remains of his home is a metal sculpture in front of the ashes of his home. The longest clip is an interview with Brian talking about the experience, where he emotionally replays his personal experience that day in Paradise.
Holderman’s paintings have allowed him to release the pain he had inside. The final painting in the series is titled, Hope. This painting depicts vegetation peeking its way through the devastation. “It is a show about what happened to me on that day but ending with hope that things will rejuvenate and come back. That is what I want people to walk away with. Even though it was a very devastating time and there was a lot of destruction that happened, we can take that pain and do something creative and positive instead of turning our efforts into something that won’t help us grow from the experience. We can’t change what happened, but we can make a decision about how we’ll react to it.”
The paintings and photographs in the exhibit are available for viewing at GualalaArts.org and available for purchase by contacting Gualala Arts or emailing Kendra at info@gualalaarts.org.
