Monday, February 24, 2014

"Something is Happening" Exhibition


Whenever we walk into a gallery, we are often so overwhelmed by the art surrounding us that we put little to no thought into how the pieces came about, placed where we see them, against the stark white walls, almost entirely dismissing the effort put in by perhaps hundreds of individuals, each doing their part to create this pristine whole. 
This realization dawned upon me, yet again, as I, along with the rest of the Digital Processes class, and J& J embarked on the journey of putting together our exhibition, “Something is Happening” in the Mudd Gallery, on the bright Wednesday afternoon of February the 19th.

We divided the work. Chris and I took it upon us to transport the pedestals to keep the class’s photobooks on, from Wriston. Later, I hung around the gallery and did everything that demanded the expertise of a 6 foot tall individual – like adjusting the lighting and putting up the title of the show on the wall. When deciding on the placement of each artist's pieces, which I can tell, would perhaps lead to a clash of ideas in the real-world setting, we were able to come together as a class and make a unified decision.
After we were done, we all stood in the room that was just an empty space with white walls only 3 hours ago, and were proud of what we had created – a new space that allowed for the visual stimulation of the viewer.

The gallery opening the following day was a success, regardless of the stormy weather. After spending weeks taking photographs, editing, eventually picking out two images and framing them to be hung in a gallery space, it was a satisfying experience to just be the spectator, and take in all the works, not individually but as a collective whole, reflecting a communal effort.

Posing next to my pieces and the exhibition title at the gallery opening
Photo by Ahin Ju, taken on my iPhone


1 comment:

  1. I agree with your post on how we just look at the art in a gallery and we don't think about how the gallery became the gallery. I don't know if I like the idea of knowing how much hard work goes into putting together such a small gallery or of I would have just appreciated being left ignorant and just going to galleries and looking at the art.

    However, I still have fun setting up the gallery!

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