From the ancient cave paintings of Lascaux, France, to the use of the Internet, humans have corresponded through a visual language of signs and symbols for tens of thousands of years, posits new exhibitions at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History. The museum (MOAH) will present eight exhibitions focusing on the use of signs and symbols to communicate visual messages and information.

The artists will employ a variety of materials and methods to communicate their observations and philosophies on art, politics, cultural identity, social justice and the human condition, says the museum.

In the Main Gallery, MOAH will showcase the work of painter Gary Lang. Lang, known for his huge circle paintings that span up to 13 feet in diameter. Lang’s canvases provide a contemporary link to the prehistoric depictions of the circle, which have long been associated with unity, infinity and eternity.

Photographer Thomas McGovern will showcase his work made specifically for and about the Antelope Valley in the Vault Gallery. McGovern turned his lens toward the deteriorating hand-painted signs, murals and advertisements that punctuate the rural High Desert landscape, capturing the diverse use of symbols and signs in the local environment. The show is accompanied by a self-guided tour map equipped with a QR code that pinpoints each of the locations that McGovern photographed.

Guillermo Bert: The Bar Code Series will be showcased in the intimate Second Floor East Gallery.

Bert’s minimalist Bar Code Series is elegantly layered with various symbols of power, both in the choice of materials he uses and in the imagery he carefully selects. The work blurs the boundaries between culture and commodities and reflects Bert’s interest in exploring concepts of consumerism, politics and social ideals.

Figurative painter Jorg Dubin has created an installation of paintings made directly from his Facebook friends’ profile pictures, many of whom the artist has never met or who mostly remain unknown to him. The installation as a whole creates an entirely new “friend,” one that questions our desire to be needed, to be seen, to be heard and investigates how social media has changed human communication and interaction. Located on the Second Floor Atrium Wall.

Susan Sironi’s delicately altered books will be on display in the Wells Fargo Gallery. Through the removal of selected text and the reconfiguration of old books into new forms, Sironi promotes an individual re-reading of the accepted norms of communication and conventions of the past.

In the Second Floor Education Gallery, MOAH will screen a film by interdisciplinary artist Danial Nord.

Nord’s humorous new film: Youtopia pokes fun at electronic communication and how the information we receive is controlled by automated search engines.

In MOAH’s Entry Lobby, celebrated urban artist Cryptik will create a two-story mural using his signature signs and symbols.

Finally, MOAH tops off the season with an exciting group show: Signs and Symbols: From Street Art to High Art in the Second Floor South Gallery with internationally renowned and groundbreaking works by: Shepard Fairey, Banksy, Barry McGee, Heretic, Keith Haring, Cryptik, David P. Flores, Robbie Conal and others. Many of these artists pioneered the street art movement by using the urban realm as their canvas.

Through creating guerrilla works of art using spray paint, templates and wheat paste, these artists transformed the dialogue about where art may or may not be placed, sanctioned, and shown and questioned the commercialization of art. Collectively, the artists are master editors, using only the most relevant symbols to achieve the greatest visual impact.