The cultural event features some of the contemporary post-modernism artworks created by various artists. In this exhibit, the pictures present an interesting backdrop that attempts to illustrate the art of the 21st century. The first picture in the exhibit was Amber Garceau’s Dancer (see fig. 1), a photograph that depicts a man in the actual performance of dancing mid-air. The outlines of the right foot indicates the fast movement, the light shining from below creates the chiaroscuro and the shadows that emphasize the dancing male form. The random movement of dancing mid-air is truly a wonderful rendition on paper because the colors mainly based on the sepia palette creates the intensity of actions. The image portrays a man highly engrossed in doing his passion and not minding whether he was being photograph. The concept of action has been established just by looking. The technique of making other parts blurry enough is probably a powerful technique to convey intense actions against rather simplistic designs. Next is the photograph titled Fruit and Ice (see fig. 2) with its clear and crisp rendition on paper is a wonderful piece that balances the polychromatic images into something that has chiaroscuro; chiaroscuro in this image was fairly balanced because the outlines of the papaya and citrus appears discernible especially even more so the figures of ice on the bottom part of the picture. The photograph’s theme was probably refreshing ideas derived from summer drinks. Summer drinks was portrayed quite artistically with further emphasis on the aesthetic display. Zooming in the image provides the viewers with better quality of analyzing the modern picture still life. This photo was a still life in its own: both the papaya and the ice are unified images. The photograph itself was reinvigorating both to the eyes and as a poster for restaurant. The crystal quality portrayals of all the subjects are good because they are not distorted; rather these pictures were based from reality influenced by the older styles from the modernist period.
Other pictures presented at the exhibit such as Mushroom (see fig. 3) created by Thomas Baylis provides the viewers with a distinct crystal clear observation of something taken from nature. On his photo, a mushroom zoomed with higher magnification is a vivid picture of orange-red and white combined alternately. The arrangement of light and dark colors gives the picture chiaroscuro which heightens every part of the mushroom; hence, all together, the mushroom part can be seen on a different light and every part can be noticed by the audiences since the color arrangement provides a good balance of contrast on the picture. But what makes the image truly noticeable is the muted dark background; it was because of his factor that viewers’ can look closely and examine the little details of the mushroom such as the small black spores on the actual ‘leaf’, the implied lines created by the colors, and the wrinkled bottom part of the leaf, as well as the actual figure of the mushroom which is akin to a colored sea-shell. From a far, without reading the description, the subject indeed looked like a shell magnified to a high level. This picture is beautiful in its minimalist description but despite its minimalism and simplicity, the picture says a lot about the mushroom structure and provides a deeper understanding of how its structure was constructed by nature. Another photograph from the exhibition is Keith Dolan’s Surface and Texture Study (see fig. 4); this is a picture that successfully mimics the painting styles in an aspect of illustrating the variations of textures. For example, the photograph shows a closed metal door attached to a metal wall. Judging from its appearance, audiences of the image can easily discern the wall as a metal because of the raised nail heads surrounding the door frame and aligned on the wall from top to the bottom part. What makes this image special like Baylis’ work is the ability of one picture to convey different textures through visual representations. The presence of the nails on the wall and the door frame suggests rough texture because the repeated patterns of elevated nail heads create a rough texture as opposed to the smooth surface of the wall and the door. In this respect, the artist simultaneously added variations of opposing textures on a single subject through attention to detail. Meanwhile, Robert Thomas’ Antique Croquet Set (see fig. 5) is a photograph which according to the label that illustrate the passage of time in art; the straight and curved lines of the croquet racquet and the ball tells the audience of its form and how the objects were used in real life, but the mellowed brown tones of the aging wood suggest the old state of the croquet, this is a perfect sample for comparing antique croquets with those from the modern age. Other pictures such as the Ski Mammouth (see fig. 6) made by artist Andrew Beattie is a rather abstract minimalist photograph created using digital illustration and the artist successfully conveyed the image of the actual ski resort through the use of lines derived from nature. All the figures were based on how they appeared in nature but in this work, Beattie merely used combinations of straight and curved lines to make a representational drawing to attract possible skiers to visit the place. The colors are monochrome tints of blue done in a manner that is akin to the flat and solid colors of ukiyo-e. Other images such as Vortograph (see fig. 7) present repetition in his artwork through the use of vertices and eggs; the mirrors reflected the images and in turn the artist successfully captured the replica created by the mirror in order to present a much wider and longer space. Murphy’s Arctic Monkeys (see fig. 8) was highly influenced by the 1960s and ‘70s retro pop culture and the era’s preferences on neon psychedelic colors and swirling lines. The theme of the work was a sample music poster created by the artist with letters depicted like carved woodcut designs of various sizes according to their importance. The words “Arctic Monkeys” are emphasized on the center with bigger scale. This work can be described as a combination of the abstract expressionist-retro style due to the inclusion of frenzied wild polychrome tints against a fairly muted blue background. The remaining images from the exhibit showcase the contemporary post-modern art; an era with no unified styles and impure imagery as a result of mixing different artistic styles derived from previous era. As a conclusion, the postmodern art is represented by these images from the collection; from the observation of the images, postmodernism’s impure style further welcomes varied art styles thus, letting artists explore variety of techniques for artistic expression. But all of the prints on this exhibition are a combination of artistic talents powered by digital machines that allowed reproduction of psychedelic, chaotic, and abstract imagery in photography.
WORKS CITED
Baylis, Thomas. Mushroom. N.d. Photograph. Southern New Hampshire University Library Gallery.
Beattie, Andrew. Ski Mammouth. N.d. Digital Graphic Illustration. Southern New Hampshire University Library Gallery.
Dolan, Keith. Surface and Texture Study. N.d. Photograph. Southern New Hampshire University Library Gallery.
Garceau, Amber. Dancer. N.d. Photograph. Southern New Hampshire University Library Gallery.
Larcom, Michael. Vortograph. N.d. Photograph. Southern New Hampshire University Library Gallery.
Murphy, Louise. Arctic Monkeys. N.d. Digital Graphic Illustration. Southern New Hampshire University Library Gallery.
Saia, Sal. Fruit and Ice. N.d. Photograph. Southern New Hampshire University Library Gallery.
Thomas, Robert. Antique Croquet Set. N.d. Photograph. Southern New Hampshire University Library Gallery.
