On a lazy Sunday morning, my only day off work that week, I felt like I needed to do more than watch Oprah re-runs and get on Myspace. As a temporary escape from Rocklin and to obtain my dose of culture, I decided to drive downtown and check out what was going on at the Crocker Art Museum. Already aware that February is black history month, I was excited to see what they had to offer.

On display is an impressive and very informative exhibit of Beyte Saar’s works entitled Extending the Frozen Moment. Also on display is a collection of the famous black and white Yosemite photography of Ansel Adams.

Extending the Frozen Moment was a collection of pieces from a woman named Beyte Saar. Not the traditional artist, Beyte created intense works of art through collages. She pieced together whatever moved her, old letters, hand-sewn handkerchiefs, clothing, photographs, or even small hand-carved pieces of furniture.

Reoccurring themes presented throughout the exhibit ranged from Civil Rights to feminism. I sympathized with this woman’s losses and cheered for her triumphs. The Jim Crow laws were put on display in a heart wrenching piece where ranges of one’s color ultimately determined their status.

One piece that moved me in particular was a white christening dress hanging from the wall. Sewn into the dress were patches of racial slurs. The dress represented the purity of a baby being born, and the patches symbolized the harsh reality that they face once they come of age in this world.

To me, there was a personal connection made between the artist and I. Living in Rocklin we forget about the equality we live with and taking a trip into the past shakes us out of ignorance and back into a humble mindset.

I had heard from various sources that Ansel Adams had taken some photographs of Roseville. I laughed at this at first, how could the famous photographer venture into little-known Roseville, before it had even developed into what it is today? I was surprised to see, along with the plethora of Yosemite and foothills pictures, a few photographs of Whitney’s Tomb.

The tomb lies just a few minutes from my house, and I used to take walks around it all the time. But there it was, photographed beautifully with Adams’s famous use of light and shadows. The photographs were presented nicely, although the exhibit was crowded, the photographs very tiny, and the lighting less-than-desirable for my prematurely bad vision. Along with the nature scenes are portraits of Georgia O’Keeffe, David McAlpin, and friends the Rockefellers.

These exhibits will be on display until April and May. I suggest you take a drive down there and check it out. Try not to take the wrong exit off the freeway and wind up at a hillbilly gas station that looks like something out of a cheap horror film like I did.

You know, just take an adventure, learn something, and have fun. The Crocker Art Museum is located downtown on O Street, not far from the capitol and Old Sacramento.