Jasmine Santiago
Name of Exhibit- Eugene Richards- The Run –On of Time
Name of Gallery ICP Museum
As I entered the Exhibit, I noticed black and white photographs on the walls at the ICP Museum located on Bowery in Soho. I was quite impressed with the artist Eugene Richards, who I learned prior to arriving at the Exhibit, is a Civil Rights Activist. Richard’s work is definitely eye-opening, as he gears towards social awareness. Richards arranged 140 photography pieces, as well as short films to tell his story. As I witnessed coming into the exhibit, his work ranged from racism, class, drugs, war, birth and death. I loved that certain pieces had the option to learn more of what Richard was thinking when he photographed it. Headphones were an option for the pieces that he wanted us to learn more about. Some of the images were profound and sparked a few emotions. I was very impressed with his presentation.
This is the first time I have been to an actual exhibit; so, unfortunately, I do not have another artist to compare him to. The emotional response that I felt was mixed. Once I first entered, I did not know exactly what route to take but I soon learned that it was up to me to create the story. One of the pieces that stood out to me the most was a photo entitled “Mariella shooting cocaine, East New York, Brooklyn, 1992”. This piece stood out to me because there was a story behind it. Richard described the woman in the photo and said how strung out on cocaine she was. He mentioned how overprotective she was of him and how upset she was when she found out he used her as the cover of one of his books. I could feel the emotion behind the photo. Made me wonder what was going in her mind from her point of view.
My overall thoughts of this exhibit, I was quite impressed. I honestly did not think I would enjoy the exhibit but I made sure to really dive into each piece and even circled around and came back to one particular piece that made me happy and uncomfortable at the same time. The photograph was entitled “Mastectomy, Boston 1978”. It shows a woman after her surgery and she is clearly expressing her happiness. I felt happy for the woman because she seemed relieved and content but felt sad because it sparked a personal emotion in me when I got my breast reduction. The photo description stated that a male doctor asked the woman in the photo if she felt any less of a woman. Her response was “Of course not!” and laughed. Richard explained that he believed this made her feel more of a woman because she can connect with other women dealing with cancer. This touched me because I was asked the same question when I got my breast reduction and for a long time, I felt like I made the wrong decision. I now know I made the right decision. This photo made me happy even more so about my choice.
This experience allowed me to be creative with my future work in this class. It also made me appreciate art more and I now plan to visit more exhibits. I learned a lot about the photographer and reading up on the exhibit before going there helped me have a better understanding of what to expect. I would love to see more of Richards work.
