Sierra Nevada College is hosting the exhibit “Stop the Car, Dad!” a series of photographs by artist Erik Lauritzen.

While traveling the often deserted roads of Nevada, photographer Lauritzen was captivated by the evidence of human presence affecting the Western landscape. From abandoned military installations to roadside vernacular architecture, the sites Lauritzen photographed reveal a certain irony often underlying everyday encounters in the Nevada desert.

“Stop the Car, Dad!” is on display through May 21 at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Prim Library, main floor.

The series “Stop the Car, Dad!” takes its name from the moment of curiosity that often accompanies the discovery of a roadside attraction. Whether bizarre, beautiful, or disturbing, these unexpected sites are strangely alluring. Lauritzen’s images in particular record places where development has given way to dilapidation. Now abandoned, these way stations are evidence of the “boom and bust” lifestyle accompanying the mining industry of Nevada.

Solitary signs and deserted buildings emerge as intriguing records of history. Lauritzen often traveled the Silver State as part of the Nevada Arts Council’s Artist in Residence Program.

Lauritzen founded the photography department at Truckee Meadows Community College and is founding director and curator of the Red Mountain Gallery.

Organized by the Nevada Arts Council, “Stop the Car, Dad!” is part of the Nevada Touring Initiative – Traveling Exhibition Program, and is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Nevada State Legislature. The Nevada Arts Council is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs.

For more information or to schedule a group visit, please contact Library Director Betts Markle at emarkle@sierranevada.edu or (775) 881.7511.