An Art Cruise Control Road Trip

Let’s take a quick road trip north of Santa Barbara to the pine trees and fresh air of early fall in Cambria, California. We get on the 101 freeway — as we pass Goleta, it quickly becomes a highway and the road gets quieter — there is cross traffic and fewer lanes. Our destination lies about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles — however, while leaving Santa Barbara, it feels a bit like we’re leaving a big city.

Easy traffic and a few amazing views later, we arrive in downtown Cambria, where we meet up with Charles Smith, owner and curator of Cruise Control Contemporary gallery. The gallery is hosting an exhibition that we have travelled to see — Reconstitutions, new works by Santa Barbara–based artist Steve Hanson. 

We have enough time to get a good look at Hanson’s work before it’s time to head “up the mountain” for a barbecue. The route ahead is a long dirt road, and various cars have not handled it well. By missing a hard-to-see left turn, we continue into the Santa Lucia Mountains with no cell reception. Along the way, we spot a flock of wild turkeys, some horses and goats, and longhorn cattle on the open range. We see hawks and deer, and a tarantula.

We eventually realize our mistake as we reach the top of the mountains and the internet begins to function — a text arrives saying, “You missed the turn off.” We double back and eventually find the right road.

Two cattle gates and a lot of bouncing later, we locate the barbecue and join Hanson and friends. As the sun sets, we realize just how remote we are, with no lights, lots of stars, and no noise, mixed in with good food, nice people, and a fire pit.

Hanson’s art show — his first in more than 30 years — will be at the Cruise Control Gallery until October 3. His work reflects his art school days at CalArts, but it is clearly also informed by his working-man ethic and a life spent outdoors — on the hills, in creeks, in the ocean, or on the road. I should mention that this life also includes running a successful landscaping business.

This is significant because one could say his artwork is about everything landscaping isn’t. Landscape design is the act of deciding the fate of plants — where they are planted, whether they are cut down or dug up, even how they are presented. The landscaper is in control.

On the other hand, Hanson’s artwork is made up of natural found objects gathered from trips to the foothills and mountains in and around Santa Barbara County. In landscaping, Hanson knows what he’s doing, his business is considered among the premier landscaping outfits in the area. In Hanson’s art choices — his medium of found objects connected together through spontaneous choices with glue and paint — one feels like the material is using him, directing him, and he is letting go of the control. Letting go of that same control that he relies on in his other work with plants. It is the other side of the coin.

On this trip, we consider the hawks, tarantulas, and wild turkeys — creatures on a different path from the cows, goats, and horses. The first group fends for themselves, arriving on their own. The second group is set in place, fed, and nurtured (at least for a time). Hanson’s art is like the tarantulas, hawks, and wild turkeys — it arrives on its own terms.

Cruise Control Cambria feels like a small Culver City–style contemporary art gallery. The next exhibit is Quality Forever by Los Angeles–based musician and luthier Wylie Gelber, Oct. 4-Nov. 8. 

In August, I stopped in for the opening of Summer Brake, a group show that included Santa Barbara artist Allan Gibbons. I was amazed to discover that the opening brought artists and supporters from all over the state: Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, and Cambria too. It felt both cosmopolitan and laid back. 

Could it be that in addition to the creative exhibitions, Cruise Control’s gift to the community may be that of bringing people together? If so, what better place than Cambria — a small town with a deep history of art.

Cruise Control Contemporary gallery is located at 1075 Main Street, Cambria, CA. cruisecontrolcambria.com