“In every photograph, there is something for the viewer to get lost in, to reflect on, or to translate,” University Specialist Professor Anne Leighton Massoni said about the gallery exhibition, LANGUOR / TEMPERANCE | REPOSE.
The gallery, which is curated by Massoni, features 11 artists of various mediums, and is on display in the Ice House Gallery until October 14.
The exhibition displays unique pieces of work that contain elements of each of the words in the title.
At first, art that encompasses connotations of listlessness, inertia, and rest may seem simple and unexciting to the audience, but as Massoni suggests, the art is much deeper than that.
The gallery offers a feeling of calmness and relaxation, one of Massoni’s goals. She feels that “cultural noise” limits time for quietude.
Displayed art includes still life, landscape, abstraction, and constructed images.
“For me, it’s like having a conversation with that space,” participating artist Tomiko Jones said during a lecture on Thursday, September 22 in the Wilson Hall Auditorium, discussing her fervor of photography. “It gives me many different ways to discover an idea.”
Jones received her MFA in Photography from the University of Arizona and is currently an assistant professor at the Metropolitan State College of Denver.
She has had solo galleries in Mexico City and Tokyo, had residency in France, and is the recipient of various grants and awards.
During her lecture, Jones discussed a motif in her creative process interior exploration. When venturing on a new photographic undertaking, Jones takes the time to really get to know her surroundings, and the history.
“I really look into the interior of the space, the environment, to find a way to translate this experience of moving through the landscape that is new to me,” she explained.
Jones encouraged students to take their projects “beyond the deadline,” because there are so many ways to explore a single thought or idea. “One of the most fun things about being a visual artist is that we can allow ourselves to create fictional narratives.”
Last semester art/photography student Candace Jahn really connected with what Jones said. “Tomiko is phenomenal. I was engulfed and enthralled by everything that she was saying,” Jahn said in the gallery, after attending the lecture.
“Her work is exquisite and beautiful. I loved what she said about working on projects not just to meet a deadline, but to revisit them. I was so inspired and I think lots of students can take from that.”
Although Jones has worked and traveled around the globe, she reminds students that as photographers, they can work anywhere.
During the lecture, she showed photographs that she took in her hotel room, with her 63 developing supplies in view.
“Look at the really small things that change in your personal environment and allow yourself to create a fictional narrative,” Jones said.
The invitational photography exhibit tells a story through the artwork, though not always a calming one. According to the gallery’s release, the viewer may be moved “in startling and unexpected directions.”
The Ice House Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.
For more information, contact Scott Knauer, Director of Galleries and Collections, at 7329234786.
PHOTO COURTESY of Marissa Weber
