New art center exhibition defines aging through photography and sculpture

A few years ago, with his wife battling dementia, Dan Meylor’s life took a bleak turn and he began pondering what aging meant.

Was it simply about getting older, he thought, or was there some other meaning?

He soon realized his wife wasn’t getting any better. Then reality hit hard, after he heard the advice of her hospice nurse.

“You have to develop a life for yourself,” Meylor, now 76, remembered the caretaker telling him.

So in 2009, the Westminster resident started photographing Los Angeles’ homeless population. He said it gave him some perspective on aging.

Now, Meylor’s work is on display alongside those by six other artists in a new Huntington Beach Art Center exhibition of photos and sculpture called “Time Lines.”

The artists collectively demonstrate the various definitions of aging, from getting older to gaining life experiences.

“I think I was drawn to their human condition,” Meylor said about his homeless photos. “Many of them suffered far more than we can ever imagine. I found it interesting and important to document their lives, and as time went on, I became more comfortable with sitting down, talking to them, learning about their lives and discovering they have very fascinating stories.”

Meylor said homelessness represents its own kind of aging.

“Not everyone in this youth-oriented society is happy and has a good time doing various things,” he said. “They express the human condition on various levels.”

Local man Ed Templeton’s photographs are arranged to show a person’s progress from childhood to a deathbed.

Photos from others show seniors in happy situations — like wearing bright clothing and smiling with friends — or in sadder moments, like in Meylor’s homeless portraits.

“When I’m asked if I take any happy pictures, I respond by saying I don’t,” Meylor said. “But what I do take are portraits that are deep, emotional and affecting. These are all beautiful people. They may be poor, they may be homeless, they may be ill, but they have a certain time of feeling that takes some understanding and appreciation.”

Kurt Weston, the show’s curator, said he believes the elderly and the effects of aging are often ignored.

“Reimagine a world where we can view the aging population as it really is,” he said. “Instead of trying to take age and medicalize it where we have to get facelifts or put on certain creams to look younger, we should just be more accepting of what it is to be human.

“The human condition is that if we live long enough, we’re all going to have our skins wrinkly and have our muscles deteriorating. It’s just a fact of life.”

Rett Yarnell, a photographer and composer, said she doesn’t believe the aging process is necessarily bad.

Yarnell has five photos in “Time Lines” depicting imagery like empty hospital beds and lone canes; they imply the loss of an older person and the realization that some minds peak when old.

“This is the sad part, I think, about aging,” Yarnell said. “People can be at the height of their intellectual power — if they’re not having Alzheimer’s or anything like that — and then boom, they’re gone. If you know Bach, at the end of his life, he was writing his greatest music because the mind keeps growing.”

Art center Executive Director Kate Hoffman said this year was perfect to premiere “Time Lines” with the new senior center opening in the summer in Central Park.

The exhibition, which opened Saturday and runs through June 18, will also include special events geared toward Surf City’s older residents, like a senior resources afternoon on May 21. The day will feature information about the new senior center.

“We have encountered so many seniors who have no idea of the resources available to them to approach their aging years, whether it be assisted-living scenarios or laws that protect them,” Hoffman said. “What we hope to do is engage people with the idea that you can’t avoid aging, and your attitude about it will make it or break it for you.”

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IF YOU GO

What: “Time Lines,” an exhibition of photography and sculpture

Where: Huntington Beach Art Center, 538 Main St.

When: Through June 18

Cost: Donations accepted; gallery hours vary

Information: huntingtonbeachartcenter.org

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brittany.woolsey@latimes.com

Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey