Gallery Trip

Aperture Foundation, Exhibit: City Stages

Posted on the four walls of the room are images in somewhat black and white.  By having them in a boxed setting helps to evoke the sense of motion throughout the photographs. The subjects vary from busy store locations to a park full of people in protest. The use of blurred images in the photographs helps to pull the audience in and feel as if they stepped in a paused moment in time. The blurred portions of the images exude people moving. The photographs achieve the idea of movement by using long shots. For example, there is a photograph of a dinosaur inside of a museum and around it is a crowd of people, looking and passing. The curved blur line helps to evoke the idea that the museum may have been busy or crowded at that particular moment. Majority of the photographs use great, strong curved lines as well as various angles. Majority of the photographs were taken from eye-level and high angles. The shot of Toys ’R’ Us uses that high angle in a really good way. It allows a grand view of the store and also connecting the audience with the height of the dinosaur.

Robert Mann, Exhibit: Rijksmuseum

The gallery focuses on the idea of open space. It uses backlight to create strong shadows. The use of light, pastel-like colors creates a warm and inviting space. Once the light hits these colors, the shapes and lines that are created are beautiful and strong. The images portray the idea of something that never really ends, like walking through a hallway that never comes to a stop. The continuance in the images also helps complete the idea of symmetry. There were also “before and after” photographs. The use of wide depth of field gets you to see the difference in the use of light between the same spaces.

Bruce Silverstein, Exhibit: Arrangements

The gallery was a complete opposite from the previous ones. The photographs seemed to be gloomy and mysterious. In the photographs of the women, the images were high contrast and sharp. The women were mainly naked and bare, displaying scars as well. Although the woman is naked, the photograph is done in a tasteful way. The main light used created such strong shadows that it also helped the high contrast in the image. The other photographs were of homes in different locations. The weather also had an impact on the image. Upon closer look, you could see the photographer was able to catch the snow and rain as it fell although it was blurry. They were also asymmetrical, long shots and eye-level. From it, I got the idea of desertion and abandonment.

Clamp Art, Exhibit: Composites

This gallery immediately had an eerie mood. All black and white photographs, the extreme close ups were two photos compiled together to create one; one photo more than the other. That effect was huge. It’s like when people combine their pictures to see what their offspring would look like. The three images titled “Aliens” were the creepiest.  The photographs were symmetrical, a wide depth of field and low contrast. Mostly black, the photographs do not quite fit the black and white criteria. The small gallery really helps to exude the creepy feel. Had it been low lighting inside the gallery, I think the mood would have been just as strong.

Julie Saul, Exhibit: Metro

The photographer compiled numerous pictures from the same scene into one entire photograph. I think this was my favorite. The vibrancy in the photographs warranted a closer look. The compilation of different shots from the same scene added to the mood of the image and gives the idea that you are looking inside someone’s mind; one that has rapid thoughts. It also helped to create diagonal lines within the images. Mostly from eye-level, the images depict everyday life, city nights especially. The photos showed tight spaces and packed streets.