Exhibition Critique: Amy Blakemore/Sarah Williams
During the month of October, I received the privilege of being able to attend an art exhibition held by The Gallery at the University of Texas at Arlington that features the artwork of Amy Blakemore and Sarah Williams. Blakemore and Williams, two artists who specialize in two different forms of art, have recently held an exhibition that includes a number of photographs and paintings. Amy Blakemore, a professional photographer who, according to the Inman Gallery, “…has exhibited her photographs throughout Texas and internationally for the last thirty years…”1, showcased photographs that portrayed intriguing subjects, such as plant life and common household tools, in even more interesting compositions. Sarah Williams is a professional artist who, despite her short professional career, “…already has had thirteen solo exhibitions…”2. Her artwork features many oil paintings that depict a variety of rural and small-town settings in the stillness and serenity of night. In this paper, I will formally review the exhibition of Blakemore and Williams, as well as express my inference of the artwork that was exhibited and explained by the artists themselves.
1 “Amy Blakemore,” Inman Gallery, accessed November 14th, 2013.
2 “The Gallery at UTA Presents Amy Blakemore and Sarah Williams,” posted on October 3rd, 2013.
As I evaluated the artwork of Blakemore and Williams, I took note of numerous observations that piqued my curiosity. A connection can be found in the artwork of the two artists in that Blakemore’s photography and Williams’s oil paintings present a unique element of humanity by experimenting with the paradox of presence and absence. By portraying environments void of any human presence, yet filled with indicators of human activity, Blakemore and Williams artistically present elements of habitation within “empty” spaces and areas. The ultimate goal of both artists is to draw the attention of viewers to aspects of our environment that are often overlooked. As I evaluated the artwork of Blakemore and Williams at The Gallery at UTA, as well as their arrangement, I took note of how they were both well organized and signified. Williams’ paintings, all of which consist of oil on canvas, are grouped together, as are Blakemore’s photographs. There is no place within the gallery where Williams’s works are beside Blakemore’s. It is possible that this is a result of the artists’ desires to signify their work in two different ways: to appropriate what is theirs and to present their two distinct approaches towards communicating the sense of inhabitation without portraying human presence. Upon analyzing the color of The Gallery, I took note of the fact that The Gallery retained its default colors of white, which adorned the walls and ceilings. There was no background for their artwork, as the works themselves provided a sense of scenery. The positioning of the artificial lighting is also an element of the exhibition to acknowledge, as there is a single light placed on each work. This is a noticeable contrast from the arrangement of one, large light over multiple works. It can be inferred that Blakemore and Williams desired for viewers to take the time to evaluate each individual work and its role in contributing to the overall theme.
During their discussion on the opening night of their exhibition, Blakemore and Williams explained that they sought to encourage people to “stop and stare.” Both artists possess their own approaches towards achieving the same goal. While Blakemore specializes in still-life photography, a process that involves the shooting of static objects, structures, etc. within an environment, Williams produces realistic paintings of small spaces within small-town environments. In the opening reception discussion, Williams explained how she seeks to attain a sense of the smaller areas of her environment, and the process of
everyday life and development in those towns. Williams believes that locations captured must be small in order to attain a feel of the serenity of the locales. All of the oil paintings presented by Williams in the exhibition were oil paintings of eerie nightscapes. This characteristic alone drew the attention of viewers to Williams’s work. Furthermore, another staggering characteristic of the oil paintings was the realism with which the subjects are depicted. Each of Williams’s nightscape paintings possesses some form of light source. Through the clever use of these light sources and their interaction with shadow and the environment, Williams establishes her paintings with stunning and realistic accuracy.
One of the first things that I noticed about Williams’s paintings was the manner in which they seem to have “vitality” without any living beings actually being present. Many of Williams’s nightscape paintings feature vacant streets and sites that one would commonly see in any small town. However, the presence of familiar structures, such as gas stations and convenience stores, as well as the role that light plays in signifying them, point to the existence of human activity. This causes the viewer to practically imagine human beings actually being present within the composition. An example of Williams’s use of lighting and place to radiate a sense of inhabitation and activity from her artwork is Quincy ATM, which is shown below:
In this image, one could imagine an individual approaching the ATM to make a brief transaction, though the completion of such an errand at nighttime is not the wisest of ideas. Williams does an excellent job of synonymizing light with life, bringing an unusual element of activity to the composition with the overhead lighting that saturates the ATM. I also took notice of the elaborate detail that was placed into the cracks that characterize the surface of the ground. During the discussion that was held with Blakemore and Williams at their opening reception, Williams mentioned that she possesses an interest in crops from the ground because their abstract features provide a sense of time. The weathered concrete shown in the above image is very similar to textures that can be found in the foregrounds of Williams’s other works. Another one of Williams’s works that caught my attention is Willard, shown below:
Sarah Williams
Willard, 2013
Oil on Board
18” x 30”
http://www.uta.edu/gallery/exhibitions/amy_sarah.php
This is an image that most people can relate to very well, as the gas station is one of the most common sites that we visit during the rush of our everyday lives. The elaborate rendering of color and detail, particularly within the interior of the gas station, provides the work with a vibrant feel. The reflection of light off of the dumpster is one of the many examples of Williams’s exceptional portrayal of light and its properties. A vast array of lighting is depicted in the background, serving to mark the location of other sites. The differentiation of value within the foreground again testifies to the weathering of the earth over the course of time. Through such seemingly small details, Williams illustrates examples of the effects of human activity on the environment. Her ability to indicate the inhabitation of an environment by portraying the effects of human activity upon it testifies to the effectiveness of her message. In retrospect, I find it both interesting and ironic that Williams produced her oil paintings at night, when human activity is at its minimum. Instead of producing interesting images of small-town residents conducting everyday activities, she chose to simulate life in secluded areas even more overlooked than the towns in which they exist.
3 Greene, Alison de Lima, Foreword to “Amy Blakemore: Photographs 1988-2008,” by Peter C. Marzio (New Haven: Yale University Press), 9.
Amy Blakemore is a photographer who has had an extensive and successful career. She has captured interesting and insightful elements of the environment for over two decades, and her works have been critically acclaimed across both the nation and the world. Blakemore is known for her uncanny ability to reveal “the marvelous in the everyday, the transcendent in the ordinary.”3 She has attained much experience from the time that she has spent behind the lens and in the world around her. During the opening reception, Blakemore explained how she has learned that very specific films are suitable for very specific cameras. Her works at the gallery consisted of a series of still-life photographs that depicted objects in a variety of locations, some of which were quite intriguing. When discussing her work, Blakemore mentioned that she does not arrange the objects within her photographs—in fact, she is interested in how objects are arranged by others. Furthermore, Blakemore seeks to understand why objects are arranged as they are. As I surveyed each of Blakemore’s photographs, I took note of how the images seemed to capture elements of humanity without humanity actually being present. Many of her photographs were images of areas filled with a varied assortment of objects. I could practically imagine the small spaces being places were a human being recently was, as the photographs showed clear signs of human activity. An example of such images is Tape Rolls. In the image, you can see an assortment of tape rolls held within compartments, as the title of the work implies. Upon initially viewing this work, I did not attribute to it any form of especial significance, as I merely interpreted the photograph as an indicator of items that may be found in a common household. However, when I revisited the exhibition, I found that Blakemore was sending all kinds of messages to the viewer through this photograph. When pondering on Tape Rolls, I cannot help but be astonished at how even the simplest of object arrangements can inform their analyst as to the manner and frequency with which they are used. As I viewed the photograph, I was led to a number of conclusions concerning the subjects depicted. It is likely that the tape roll compartments are visited briefly, as the rolls that they hold are not placed in any particular orderly positions. Another possibly, when considering the thickness of the tape rolls, is that they are not used very often. Both of these inferences ultimately led to my determination that the tape roll compartments are areas designated for the quick retrieval of simple supplies. The care that is taken into the arrangement of the items, as well as the frequency of their use, indicates the value with which they are held. I found Tape Rolls to be a work that particularly captivated my interest because, though it is opaque to eyes limited to the apparent, Blakemore sends a transparent message to the observant.
As I surveyed Blakemore’s photographs at the opening reception, I took note of the diverse responses that my classmates issued to her work. Many of my classmates were either unable to see the significance of her photos, or found her images to have somewhat misleading titles. An excellent example of the works that reaped these comments is Blakemore’s Red Drapes. In the image, you can see a vase of flowers placed on a pedestal in the foreground. Red drapes can be seen in the background of the image, easily noticeable due to the title’s indication of their presence. To most viewers, it would be logical for the title of the work to be named after the most prominent object, which is the vase of flowers. However, Blakemore gauged attention to the red drapes in the background by titling the work Red Drapes. As one would expect, viewers are likely to search for a subject within a work of art that correlates with the title before evaluating any other aspect of the artwork. I find it interesting that Blakemore attributed to certain photographs titles that my colleagues describe as “misleading.” In truth, Blakemore’s intriguing use of unorthodox titles causes the viewer to evaluate a subject that, under ordinary conditions, may be ignored. As I made a personal analysis of Red Drapes, I took note of the interesting role that the drapes play in the image. From my observations, the drapes appear to serve as a form of “frame” for the vase of flowers in the foreground. As a result, they enhance the presentation of the flowers. I believe that Blakemore seeks to send viewers two very significant messages through this photograph. The first message contributes to the overall theme of the exhibition, which illustrates the significance that can be found in what we commonly perceive to be insignificant. If Red Drapes was void of red drapes, the flowers in the foreground would not possess the same warm tone, and the composition of the work as a whole would be somewhat bland. As an artist who is interested in how objects and items are placed and positioned by others, I believe that Blakemore also seeks to cause viewers to contemplate on the intentions of the individual who placed the subjects within the photograph. It is certainly possible that the individual who stationed the vase of flowers found its position to be visually appealing. Blakemore essentially serves as a bridge across which the viewer travels to a destination that grants him or her a deeper understanding of the subjects depicted. Overall, I found Blakemore’s work to be very potent and unassuming. Upon closely evaluating her photographs, one may find that she sends her message of finding uncommon qualities in the commonalities of life efficiently. In “Photography and Representation,” a passage within a journal known as Critical Inquiry, it is stated that “…if there is such a thing as a cinematic masterpiece it will be so because…it is in the first place a dramatic masterpiece.”4 I believe that something similar can be said about Blakemore’s work. The photographs themselves are not what make her work works of art, but rather what is depicted. Blakemore acts as somewhat of an “art detective,” finding artistic elements not only in everyday life, but in the actions of individuals who live out such a life. By capturing images that depict our impact upon the environment around us, she is essentially highlighting the strokes of humanity that mark the canvas that I the world. This is what translates Blakemore’s photography from a mere image to a work of art.
In conclusion, I found the work of both Blakemore and Williams to be both qualitative and life-long lessons. The manner in which their artwork was installed truly coincided with their central message of pausing to truly analyze the world around you. Each of Blakemore and Williams’s works were arranged in a manner that singled them out from the others, requiring visitors of their exhibition to take the time to closely and carefully study each individual work. Furthermore, their artwork depicted subjects that exist in reality, which served to enhance the theme of their exhibition. I believe that the manner in which Blakemore and Williams’s artwork could be evaluated at their exhibition reflects the manner in which we should survey the world around us. With the daily activities and obligations that constitute our everyday lives, it is easy for us to overlook the simple wonders of life. Both Blakemore and Williams illustrated the beauty that can be found in aspects of reality that our society commonly overlooks. Their artwork teaches an invaluable lesson that we all can learn from, as, in life, we have a tendency to behave as if we have everything figured out. This causes us to often undermine wisdom presented before us that, ultimately, is the solution to the issues that we face in life. The work of Blakemore and Williams truly emphasizes the concept of life being a process of continuous discovery, an eternal expedition. If humanity truly understood everything, the brilliant minds of our modern age would not proceed to push for innovative creations that simplify the tasks that constitute our everyday lives. There would be answers to every question, and solutions to every problem. However, like Blakemore and Williams, we produce works of art with every progressive step. Every achievement that we make in our lives produces a new image that increases our range of insight. Such achievements can only be made when we patiently study the lives that are laid out before us.
Bibliography
Dallas Art News. “The Gallery at UTA Presents Amy Blakemore and Sarah Williams.”
http://www.dallasartnews.com/2013/10/gallery-uta-presents-amy-blakemore-sarah-williams/; accessed November 14th, 2013.
Greene, Alison de Lima, Tucker, Anne Wilkes, Iles, Chrissie, and Sanchez, Marissa.
Amy Blakemore: Photographs 1988-2008. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2009, Print. pg. 9.
Inman Gallery. “Amy Blakemore.” http://www.inmangallery.com/artists/blakemore_amy
/Blakemore_bio_page.html; accessed November 14th, 2013.
Scruton, Roger. “Photography and Representation,” Critical Inquiry, Vol. 7, No. 3 (The
University of Chicago Press, 1981.) pg. 577.
The Gallery at UTA. “Amy Blakemore/Sarah Williams.” http://www.uta.edu/gallery/
Exhibitions/amy_sarah.php; accessed November 14th, 2013.