The World of Art Through Collidescope Eyes: A Visit to The Riverside Art Museum

I recently visited the Riverside Art Museum in riverside California. There were 2 exhibits that were extremely interesting, one photography series called Of Hunger and Resilience by Michael Nye and one solar etching series called 52, by Sue Mitchell. I found that each of these exhibits had different meanings, however both artist used subjects that had meaning to them and that they hold dear to their hearts and convey these meanings through their artwork. Which is what art is right? Passion. If an artist choses to make work out of something they are not passionate about it will be mediocre compared to something they are passionate about.
Michael Nye’s, Of Hunger and Resilience is a series of photographs he took of people living in poverty, without the means to survive. He wanted to show his viewers what hunger looks like, how it feels, its surroundings, etc. I feel that this series is all about seeing a different side of the world that most do not see everyday and showing that even though these people are grungy looking with dirty clothes these people are truly beautiful in their own way. One piece from this series that happens to be my favorite is, Tiffany. The poor girl’s hair is mangled, her hands are filthy, she has teeth that have probably never seen a dentist and is wearing overalls and a polo shirt made for a man, but it is all her imperfections that make her beautiful and give her a sense of innocence. When I saw this photo I was so curious as to what her background story was, which is definitely what intrigued me the most. Another photograph from his series was a bit different than Tiffany, it had a more horrific and ghostly look to it, called Felicita. She is dressed in a dark baggy and oversized dress, barefoot jumping to create the blur effect to look ghostly. She is in what looks to be a rocky desert wasteland on a stormy day, which leads me to believe that she is stranded in search of help. Another photograph of his also had a ghostly effect and is of an older woman, Cindy, looking as if she is searching for a sign to better her life and find a way out of the suffering. The photograph is composed and framed in such a way that she is locking eyes with the viewer and begging to end this suffering. This is a strong strategy of Nye’s within this entire series because he has the power to draw the viewers in through his photos.
Sue Mitchell’s, 52 is a series of solar etchings of the 52 Montezuma Bold Cypress trees at her favorite part of Fairmount Park in Riverside. Solar etching is essentially printmaking with a solar plate. Mitchell took the time to do solar etchings of all of the 52 trees in 52 weeks. I found this extremely interesting and inspiring because she put so much time and thought into this project. Two of the fifty-two trees that stood out most to me were Tree Thirty-Three and Tree Fifty-One just because of the way the trees branch out almost looking like a sun and are so full of life, especially Tree Fifty-One. What I also found to be spectacular when I spoke to Sue—and It was such a pleasure meeting her and chatting about art and her process of this project—was that she had taken the time to create a journal and save all the things she got ideas and inspiration from and all her progress throughout those 52 weeks she was working on her project, 52. She said “never throw anything away, you never know when you are going to need a use for it. Did you see the quote on the threshold right as you walked into my exhibit? That I have had for years and I remember loving it so much, I forgot all about it, then it ended up working perfectly for my show.” Talking to her really inspired me to create something tangible that I could use to document my artwork in a more intimate and personal way than simply through the computer screen.
All in all, this art museum is a must to visit, I recommend it 100% and hope that anyone who has the opportunity to visit will have as pleasant of an experience as I did. I really did learn a lot, not just about art and the exhibits shown, but also about myself and grew as a person. I think that is definitely the beauty of museums, you walk out with a whole different outlook on things, you may not change drastically per say but it will definitely make you think on a whole other level.