Guest Curator: Gay Dawson
FORCE OF NATURE: The 1906 Earthquake in Sonoma County
April 22 - July 9, 2006
The Sonoma County Museum presents Force of Nature, a centennial earthquake exhibition commemorating the largest natural disaster to ever take place in Sonoma County. This exhibition features the human story of the 1906 earthquake, one of ruin and resurrection, along with the art and science that can visually reveal nature’s fury. Explore the stories of Santa Rosa’s complete devastation as well as the scientific context of the disaster, which can dramatically rupture our presumptions of stability.
Scientific data maps and instruments, interactive contemporary artworks, oral stories, artifacts and ephemera from the Museum’s permanent collection will provide a sense of what the destruction was really like. Education Programs for children and adults will give context about the earth’s dynamism and our relationship to its unstable surface.
Force of Nature also features commissioned work by noted Bay Area artist John Roloff. Creating a visual link to the region’s geology, Roloff’s digitally compressed images of landscapes are designed to mimic stratigraphic columns referencing both the east and west terrains of the San Andreas Fault. His outdoor flags are emblematic of geologic symbols that reflect the geology beneath the Museum.
