theWRIGHTartblog

Maddison Wright

Art History

12/3/2013

Extra Credit

Riverside Art Museum

While visiting the Riverside Art Museum I was shocked by the bold architecture of the Museum and very interested in the unique exhibits. Everywhere I looked I found something I could admire, whether if it was the decoration of the lights, water fountain, plants, or the actual art works themselves - there was always something to look at. There were two exhibitions up for show; one was titled “About Hunger & Resilience,” and the other just had the number “52” to represent the exhibit. The photographs taken by Michael Nye, in her exhibit “About Hunger & Resilience,” showcased fifty photos. Each piece was a photograph of a person who dealt or was dealing with hunger. The experience of hunger seems to be one of Michael Nye’s passions. He was so influenced by the effects of others not being able to have enough to eat - which is a necessity for our survival. Every person I encountered I could almost feel some of their emotion through their eyes and way they were posed. One of the first photographs I came to almost made me cringe. Her name was Tiffany and she had one off centered gap in her teeth, tattered overalls and shaggy hair - with one strand of hair lightly falling in front of her face. Her eyes showed despair and hardship; her body language showed her helplessness as her hands bent over the straps of her overalls. Clenching onto her clothing it seemed as if she was searching for support. Another photograph in the exhibit was taken of a fourteen year old girl named Josette. Her story, like all of the others, was heart wrenching. The sadness in her one visible eye and lips said it all. She is pouring out through her facial features the undeniable helplessness she feels. Josette talks about how angry she gets when hunger strikes and there is no food to be eaten. She has four brothers and sisters whom she also feels heartache for. These photographs no doubt help tell the stories of every individual in the exhibit. Though not only do we feel for these people but also for all the others out there who are always in need of a meal. Michael Nye demonstrates this issue in the perfect lighting. He captures expressions that tell stories and also advocates for the people who remain voiceless to our society.

The other art exhibit was called “52,” by the artist Sue Mitchell. She not only created 52 etchings of her favorite trees (each print edition out of twenty-five) but brought in her entire art studio from the past five years of her thought process through this journey. Her “art studio” was amazing; the wall was cluttered with every thought but each was placed on the wall with purpose. I had the pleasure to meet the artist and she was inspiring. She even thanked us for “actually” reading the wall because she said most don’t and then they are lost when walking into her art studio. I appreciated the fact that she told us to not call our sketchbook a “sketchbook” but rather an “everything book.” She believed calling it a sketchbook limited people to only drawing their sketches, rather than drawing every thought and pasting every picture that inspired someone. One etching she printed that stood out to me was titled “Tree Nineteen.” The tree showed very sturdy taking up most of the bottom right corner of the print. As you scan the rest of the image it becomes a bit more delicate with all of the tiny detailed branches.

Although this Museum was not the biggest I have been to it was definitely one of my favorites I have visited. The two exhibits I saw were both so inspiring in their own ways I wanted make sure I saw all that there was in each room.