Intern's February Review

ARC Gallery and Educational Foundation
Intern's February Review
By: Melissa Woolridge

Walking into ARC Gallery the exhibition immediately has a breadth of space, which allows a feeling of openness for the large-scale photography of Amanda Aton in her exhibit, I’ll Have the Plain Icing. Each photograph captures the small moments of life and expands upon it in a large format that is accented with smaller photographs along the side. The photography style and subject matter contrasts with the exhibit of Sue Katz, in her collection of work entitled Nostalgia. While the brightly colored and well-framed collages are lit within a warm intimate space, it is a noticeable shift in atmosphere from the open area of Aton’s photography, which possesses a slightly cold, but very crisp display. A similar ambiance is felt in the last exhibit of the gallery, which is Jonee Cocchia’s series of black and white photography, tilted Seeing Nothing.

Jonee Cocchia, Passing Me By

            I found Cocchia’s exhibit very intriguing and while there are some connections between the first and last exhibit, the black and white photography seemed much more intimate than the larger color photos. Both exhibits strived to capture unseen moments in life. The difference between them is that Aton expounded upon that moment while Cocchia maintained a distance from his subject. In particular, his photograph Passing Me By caught my eye. The composition of the piece was successful and the lighting gave it a certain appeal. I enjoyed the effect of being able to freeze a moment on the street and be able to stare into the world of that person. Especially in the city where many people’s lives go unnoticed, it is a curious feeling to be able to look at a photograph of a person and wonder: Who is this person? Where have they been? Where were they going? Where are they now?

Amanda Aton, Untitled

            Aton’s series of photographs similarly captured intimate moments, but by printing them larger it gave an effect of magnifying what normally goes unnoticed. The composition of all the photographs were on point, the colors were very rich, and complimented each other throughout the display. The photograph Untitled in which there is a stone angel in a warm entrancing light, accented by three smaller, intimate photos on the side stood out. I found the collection of work very connected and flowing, and while it was slightly disjointed with the work of Katz, the photography was strong and stood out on its own.

Sue Katz, Italian Beauty

            Katz’s collection of mixed media collage was very striking and colorful from the first glance. The series was very fluent and the energy of nostalgic vibrancy could be sensed as you moved through the exhibit. The piece that caught my attention was titled, Italian Beauty. It featured a stunning 1950s era blonde, highlighted in bright pink and blue paint, accented with newspaper clippings of a sentimental past. It was an innocent look at the past, but still a faint reminder of the glamorous and superficial idealization of a past time.

            In conclusion the overall exhibitions of these three artists were strong, each having a distinct and independent view on the subject.  They worked in conjunction with each other producing the effect of capturing a moment in time, and preserving it in art.