Anne Marie Karlsen’s series of large porcelain enamel patterned discs are composed from local photographic imagery. The designs appear abstract from a distance, but up close you can see the history of the community. “The repetitive circular motif in the artwork is loosely inspired by the image of old western wagon wheels.  The wheels spin ‘round and round’ across the wall as if moving into the future.  The photomontage in each wheel is a kaleidoscopic repeat of both historic and contemporary photos that depict the Acton/Agua Dulce community.  The artwork incorporates photographs of the area’s history and reconfigures these images to create a dynamic future view.  The artwork and the quotation refer to the pioneer roots of the community.  The quotation connects the frontier spirit of the community with the open frontier of knowledge.  The library is that new frontier, where open minds can push the boundaries, the edges, of learning, imagination and understanding.”

Anne Marie Karlsen earned her MFA from the University of Wisconsin and has been teaching art in southern California since 1979 at UCLA, and currently at Santa Monica College. Since 1990 she has been commissioned for numerous public projects throughout the country, including the FBI Headquarters in Chicago; Paseo Colorado Development in Pasadena; North Hollywood Metro Red Line station; and Trailside Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska. In 2008, her artwork for Lawndale Library, titled Subdivisions, was among forty works cited as “one of the most exemplary, innovative permanent or temporary public art works created or debuted in 2008” by the Americans for the Arts. Her work is also represented in many museums throughout California and the U.S., and internationally in the Kulturverwaltung Stadt in Salzburg, Austria.