Dreaming California: Ruth-Marion Baruch, Bill Owens, and Larry Sultan

Ruth-Marion Baruch: Signs of the Times

Ruth-Marion Baruch: "WAR" (sign), from the series Haight Ashbury, 1967; selenium toned gelatin silver print; 16 x 20 in.; courtesy of the Estate of Ruth-Marion Baruch.

In her series Haight Ashbury, Ruth-Marion Baruch captured portraits of young people populating this famous San Francisco intersection in 1967, as well as some eloquent handmade signs of the times. Photographing from outside a sun-streaked window, Baruch documented a poster bearing the image of a single sunflower with the words “War is not healthy for children and other living things.” Created by artist and activist Lorraine Schneider in 1967 for the recently founded organization Another Mother for Peace, the sunflower logo has since become an international icon. This and many other telling images of California’s ever-changing (counter)cultural landscape can be found in Dreaming California: Ruth-Marion Baruch, Bill Owens, and Larry Sultan, on view in the museum’s Theater Gallery, where admission is free.

Stephanie Cannizzo
Curatorial Associate

Dreaming California is curated by Gary Bogus, Stephanie Cannizzo, and Dara Solomon. Special thanks to Bill Owens, Larry Sultan, the estate of Ruth-Marion Baruch, Dr. Robert Harshorn Shimshak, the James Cohan Gallery, and the Stephen Wirtz Gallery for their time and generosity.