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Antonio Turok, Solar Eclipse, print, 1991 |
I honestly wasn’t aware of the Witliff Collection and how
extensive it was until a few months ago. One of my classes took a trip up to
the Witliff gallery which is located on the 7th floor of Aklek. When first
entering the exhibition space, I was at taken back. This level of the library
was significantly different. It lacked the cold industrial look of the other
floors of the library. Instead everything about the space screamed Texan decor.
Despite the cheese factor of Texas decor it was somewhat refreshing after viewing every
level of the library. At first the sheer amount of art in the space is
overwhelming, but with further viewing it shows nicely cataloged an extensive
historical viewpoint of Mexican-American photography.
The
first image I viewed immediately walking into the gallery space was a
photograph by Antonio Turok the Solar Eclipse
(Imaged above). Coming from a design background I initially thought “hey that’s
a really cool edit (with Photoshop),” but later was corrected by my professor
that it in fact had not been digitally altered. I thought the chaos of the
birds flocking around the deeply contrasted sun gave off a sort of ominous tone
to the overall photograph. The combination of the solar eclipse and the birds
moving almost as if they were thrashing amidst the air almost transforms the
setting into complete utter chaos. His photographs even compelled me to go home
and look at some of his other works. They all seem to have the same deep almost stressed contrast between the
positive and negative as they do in his photograph the Solar Eclipse. The other photos in
the room lined the wall equally spaced and dense amount (which makes it
significantly differ from the exhibitions in the art building.) Some of the
photos I had seen in textbooks, but I must admit it’s a completely
different experience seeing them in person. I thought it was very interesting
one of the library art directors was talking about the processes of photography
how things are burned and developed while I was viewing the photos. It sort of
helped me understand since I really have no previous experience with
traditional photography and also added a bit of interesting commentary while i viewed the photographs. I left the
exhibit knowing a lot more of how these photographers may have gotten to their
final product.
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Dorothy Lange, Migrant Mother, print, 1936 |
One of the more iconic photos in the gallery is the photo of
“Migrant Mother” by Dorothy Lange. I believe this photo is still relevant in a
contemporary standpoint, because of the current economic state. Though the photo was taken several decades
ago it still reminds the viewer that harsh times have befallen this country
before and economic collapse isn’t something that has only happened in the past
few years. I think what makes this photo so iconic is the woman’s
expression, its a contemplative gaze. What may have been going through
her mind at the time are thoughts desperation and struggle. Her children bury their faces in her shoulder as if they are looking to their mother to shield them from the environment. Dorothy Lange captures
the struggles of lower class families through the image of this woman. Though the Witliff is a bit overwhelming I think it’s a cohesive and
interesting exhibition of Mexican-American history that can be sometimes
over-looked outside of the art department.
-Zac Colquitt
1 comments:
I'm such a sucker for black and white photography. The first photo in your post, Solar Eclipse, single-handedly convinced me to go see this exhibit. Just the fact that this photo is completely natural and not altered in any manner is incredible to me, it looks like something out of a creepy Spaghetti-Western movie or something. It also brings to mind Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." You know it's a great photo when it takes my attention away from a photo like "Migrant Mother."
-Will Tullos
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