Spring Break
Union exhibit takes aim at digital manipulations
Show features triple artistic visions
Ryan Jarcy
Staff Writer
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The Union Gallery unveiled a new exhibit featuring works from Damon Anderson, Todd Shaffer and Brice Clendenin on Oct. 10 to an excited crowd, hoping to live up to past galleries hosted in the building.
Set to run through Oct. 20, the exhibit features photographs and paintings by the three artists.
Damon Anderson's works revolve around a central theme of graffiti and urban landscapes, depicting the process of life in a metropolitan area.
"Don't look Down" and 'Afraid of Heights?" are excellent shots of a man perched high above what looks to be a courtyard between two buildings. He's working with about four feet of room, but manages to make a great piece of graffiti in spite of his workspace.
Anderson's portrayal of city life comes across well, as he showcases dilapidated buildings, crowded street corners and sleeping homeless men with an eye for detail and a knack for capturing just enough of his subjects to give them a great deal of depth and artistry.
Todd Shaffer, born and raised in Arlington and now a photography student at NT, takes a more abstract approach to his work.
"Once upon a time, I took pictures, now I make them," he said. The pieces are very much a personal reflection of him. To the curious bystander, they may seem like nothing more than a few splashes of paint on a canvas.
Herein lies the inherently subjective quality. Opinions seem to be at polar ends of the spectrum as some find it deep and meaningful, and others as worthless.
There's a total absence of material perspective here, and that just might be what makes it interesting.
Brice Clendenin's section of the gallery is a visual portrayal of phobias, and it leaves a little bit to be desired. The subject matter is good, and it portrays the fear decently well, but it comes off a little more on the amateur side than the rest of the gallery.
A few shots are merely black-and-white photos with a bit of distortion, while others reek of digital manipulation to the point of exaggeration.
So what's the verdict?
"It seems a bit amateurish," says Holly Beard, Houston sophomore. "They seem to love using digital cameras, and it really detracts from any kind of realism or soul in the works. Using Photoshop and dumping a ton of filters on a picture isn't respectable, and it doesn't make good art."
This sentiment was echoed by others who didn't think it measured up to prior shows in the Union.
The entire crowd did not dislike the exhibit, however. "Some of the work is good, but a lot of it seems to be Photoshopped," says Ryan Feuerhelm, Rockwall senior. "You can do great things with image editing software, but it also kind of kills the art of photography. They have potential, and for the most part, I liked it."
Though varied, the exhibit has definitely managed to elicit a response from the population.
