Visions of California

  Early California Art and AI - A Study of Mission San José del Cabo          There are precious few primary source images of the mission period in Las Californias (1697 - c. 1834). The images that do exist, however, have been crucial in understanding this time period in the region's history. While many institutions have digitized these materials, new AI-based technology may offer possibilities to enhance or understand these images in new ways. For this study, I will focus on the following images of Mission San Jos é del Cabo at the southern edge of the peninsula of Baja California: 1762-1766 - Watercolors produced by the Jesuit missionary Fr. Ignacio Tirsch of Baja California (click on " Faksimile (97) " on the digital archive of the Czech National Library. The specific image studied here will be image 8r). 1769 - Three images produced by Alexandre Jean Noël during an expedition to observe a transit of the planet Venus across the sun on June 3, ...

A Southern California Indigenous Village. Courtesy of Phil Brigandi, OC Historyland Important Note: I am not an archaeologist, but rather an historian doing my best to piece together what I can about this community. I am always open to learning more and open to any suggestions or criticisms you might have. What's most important is getting this as right as possible. Thank you for your patience with any errors or misunderstandings that may be present in this article. The city of Brea, California was once home to a Tongva village. This village was inhabited prior to the arrival of Spanish colonists in 1769. New research sheds light on this village’s name, location, and individuals who lived within it. A highly stylized portrayal of the Portolá Expedition. While not entirely historically accurate, this beautiful mural still gives a very general impression of the kinds of Spanish leather-jacket soldiers that passed by the village on Brea Creek in 1769. "Discovering Orange County...