Palm Court Arts Complex

Farmers to Flyers: Marine Corps Air Station El Toro and Mid-century Orange County

On exhibit July 14, 2012-March 31, 2013

Farmers to Flyers: Marine Corps Air Station El Toro and Mid-century Orange County is a site-specific exhibition of historical photographs, artifacts and videos that describe MCAS El Toro’s impact on Southern California. This special exhibition, based on 400 foundational interviews with El Toro veterans, also explores related topics, such as agriculture, dramatic urban growth, industrial expansion, freeway construction, parks and master planned cities. The exhibition is a project of the Orange County Great Park Corporation and the Center for Oral and Public History, California State University, Fullerton.

Contemporary Artists Conceptualize the Year 1942

On exhibit July 14, 2012-March 31, 2013

Contemporary Artists Conceptualize the Year 1942 includes paintings by artist Bradford Salamon that show scenes from a simpler time, including old friends sharing stories, an old-fashioned barbershop quartet belting out a tune, and a gentleman catching up on the news. Artist Caleb Morris depicts common objects, such as an old fashioned typewriter and record player from the 1930s and 40′s designed to transport viewers back in time. Artist Jeff McMillan’s graphite on paper paintings showcase the technically advanced World War II fighter planes, such as the P-40 Warhawk and P-51 Mustang that were often decorated with customized, hand-painted art works and logos.

Camera Obscura

The camera obscura is the historical antecedent to every camera. You can visit a walk-in camera obscura created by The Legacy Project in the Great Park Artists Studios during regular operating hours.

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Kevin Kwan Loucks

Korean-American pianist Kevin Kwan Loucks has been hailed as “a shining talent” (Völser Zeitung, Italy), “impeccable” (La Presse, Montréal), and an artist “with exhilarating polish, unity, and engagement” (The Orange County Register, California). He has performed in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Prösels Castle in Italy, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Lichtenstein Palace in Prague, and Aspen’s Harris Concert Hall where he was featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today.As a collaborative artist, Mr. Loucks has appeared in recitals with Rachel Barton Pine, Denis Brott, James Campbell, Colin Carr, Alan Kay, Edgar Meyer, Frank Morelli, Lara St. John, Roger Tapping, Rafael Wallfisch, and Carol Wincenc, and has been featured in collaborations with the Afiara, Cecilia, and Jupiter String Quartets. He is a founding member of Trio Céleste with violinist Iryna Krechkovsky and cellist Denis Brott - recently appointed Artists-in-Residence at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine - and is also a member of Gruppo Montebello, a newly formed All-Star Ensemble consisting of acclaimed Banff Centre faculty and alumni directed by Henk Guittart.

Mr. Loucks has performed as soloist with the South Orange County Chamber Orchestra, the University of California Irvine Symphony Orchestra, and the Bratislava Chamber Orchestra in Austria. He has been featured as guest artist at the Laguna Beach Chamber Music Festival in California, the Daejeon Chamber Music Festival in South Korea, the Moulin d’Andé in France, and the Montreal Chamber Music Festival in Canada, and has attended summer programs at the Aspen Music Festival, Music@Menlo, The Banff Centre, and the Gijón International Piano Festival in Spain. He is currently Principal Artist-in-Residence for the International Arts Mentoring Program in South Korea, a program created by the Education and Culture Association of Seoul dedicated to bringing music performance and arts education to underprivileged children throughout Asia and Europe. Mr. Loucks has also been selected by The Orange County Great Park Corporation for its six-month residency program where he will design site-specific art for the park, as well as develop creative concepts through performances, exhibitions, workshops, and lectures through April 2012.

A graduate of The Juilliard School and the University of California, Irvine, Mr. Loucks is currently completing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony Brook University where he served as Head of Piano for the Pre-College Division and Teaching Assistant for both the Emerson String Quartet and the Graduate Chamber Music Program. His teachers include Julian Martin, Nina Scolnik, and Christina Dahl.

Jennifer Backhaus

Jennifer Backhaus is the Founder and Artistic Director of Backhausdance, Orange County’s award winning contemporary dance company. Jennifer was included in OC Metro’s 40 Under 40 in 2009 and was honored by Chapman University as Alumni of the Year for her artistic success with Backhausdance. As a choreographer, Jennifer’s works have been commissioned and produced by the Los Angeles Ballet, Orange County Regional Ballet, the McCallum Theatre, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Utah Regional Ballet, Chapman University, Mount San Antonio College, Santa Ana College, Impact Dance Theater, TDC of the Bay Area, Brigham Young University, among others.Many of Jennifer’s works have been honored by Regional Dance America and her piece Disintegration was selected for national performances with the American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. For Backhausdance she has created thirteen pieces, three of which (Sitting on January, Love and Other Impossibilities and Shift) have received multiple Lester Horton Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography. At the McCallum Theatre’s Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival, Jennifer has been the recipient of three consecutive choreography awards for her work with Backhausdance.

Jennifer is an instructor of dance at Chapman University where she teaches modern dance technique, dance improvisation and Introduction to Dance Studies. She is also a teaching artist for the Segerstrom Center for the Arts ArtsTeach Program where she shares her love for dance and choreography with local students in public and private schools across Southern California.

She recently completed her graduate studies through the prestigious Hollins Unversity/American Dance Festival program, earning her a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance.

The Legacy Project

The Legacy Project is dedicated to documenting and interpreting the former Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro, simultaneously honoring the history of the site and celebrating its transformation into the Orange County Great Park. This group of six photographers, assisted by legions of students and friends, have created over 200,000 images of El Toro in addition to shooting several videos. Their most notable work is the world’s largest photograph, The Great Picture, a 32-by-111-foot image of El Toro created in a former F-18 hangar.
Photo: Detail from Nature Prevails ©Mark Chamberlain

Check out some of the Great Park’s past Artists-in-Residence: