When we installed Lutzick Snowdrift Arrays (LSA) in the WSA Gallery in October 2025, artist Dan Lutzick made it clear this would not be a static installation. His plan was to evolve the show during the sixteen months it would be on exhibition, and that has held true. The first major adjustment came in late May, when Dan added a large predator to the mix: Katzenjammer, and in June, when he populated the glass wall at the top of the Canyon.

A NOTE FROM DAN ABOUT KATZENJAMMER

Katzenjammer, both the name and the sculpture was the driving force behind the concept of “Predators” in the Arrays Exhibit. As is often the case, when I found the salvaged air-conditioning duct that forms Katzenjammer in my basement, I immediately thought of putting the pieces together to create the most threatening sculpture in the exhibit. The process of pulling those pieces together worked in opposition to the stable “Huddle” grouping in the exhibit, and that tension led to a collection of works created for the exhibit. 

As I worked my way through the process, Katzenjammer was shelved during the Arrays installation until I had studio time to return to the piece. Seeing the Arrays exhibit realized in the WSA Gallery gave me the inspiration to enlarge the height of Katzenjammer to 10’, and it focused my attention on the placement of the sculpture in the WSA Gallery.

Inside the WSA Gallery

I chose to place Kazenjammer against the large northern window in the gallery, and the light from that window turns Katzenjammer into a threatening silhouette by day.

At night the orange sodium light from the “eyes” of the piece fill the WSA Gallery with a glow that pretty much takes over the space. The museum is rarely open at night, but I believe the glowing WSA gallery window on the north side of the museum becomes a piece unto itself each night as that orange light invades the space. That light is a part of Katzenjammer’s menace in the Arrays Exhibit.

Installing Codex

During the installation of LIFE MASK in October 2023, Dan created a glass divider wall (Codex) to showcase Paul’s DADA cards, providing a front and back view. For his own show, he brainstormed a variety of ideas for this space, and came up with a plan that will give the viewer deeper insight into Dan’s process. More from Dan:

We have been working on a book that documents the ideas behind and installation of the Arrays exhibit and we have reached that moment where Lori, Ann-Mary, and myself are editing our way through the sixth or seventh draft of that 160-page book. This editing process has left my work tables at Snowdrift covered with copies of journal pages and drawings related to the show, and not surprisingly, the layering of all that material on my desk led to some artistic
inspiration.

It turns out that many of the journal entries I was looking at included lists of potential words for the Canyon Gallery wall, or notes from the books that I include on the exhibit reading table. While these journal entries are rather mundane in themselves, they provide clues to the ideas behind the exhibit. A chance alignment of transparency of one of my drawings over one of these journal pages led me to look at this material in a new way.

I had been searching for a solution to a 3’x7’ glass display wall at the north end of the Canyon Gallery, and using transparencies of my work allowed me to make the most of that particular gallery feature. As visitors walk up the Canyon Gallery ramp to the WSA Gallery, they now encounter a series of 6 enlarged journal pages that are each overlayed with a transparency of one of my drawings in red ink.

The viewer can literally look through this information within this glass wall into the WSA Gallery. Layers of information are encountered in this way in a single view. For instance you can see the word “Katzenjammer” listed in the word notes for the Canyon Gallery, and you see that word as you look through the red ink drawing of Madam I’m Adam, which is a design that is repeated throughout the exhibit, and behind all of that you can see the lights and form of the actual sculpture Katzenjammer visible through that glass wall. That is a lot of information to absorb in a single glance, and it is what makes the use of this glass entry wall so
interesting. I am thinking of calling this display Codex.

Accretion and The Traveler

Following the installation of the Codex, I again turned my attention to a sculpture that is part of the assemblage called Accretion. I created a white plaster like base for the figure to rest on and I coated the exposed plywood on the sculpture in a heavy coat of shellac. I like the color and layered wood grain that the shellac brings out in the plywood, and the process of getting the shellac into all the nooks in this piece is more like anointing the sculpture in oil. I have a
tradition of collecting rocks during my walks in desert to the east of La Posada, and I was inspired to collect a selection of stones to fill the warm cavities in the sculpture. This sculpture has been nicknamed The Traveler because it was surrounded by an array of old steam trunks when it was located at Snowdrift Art Space.

Lutzick Snowdrift Arrays Film

We are pleased to announce the film about the installation of the Lutzick Snowdrift Arrays exhibit has been selected for the Fine Arts Film Festival in Venice, CA! You can watch the film by clicking this link.