Exhibit: “The Primacy of Water: Photographic Interpretations”
Posted Wednesday, March 09th, 2011
Through May 23, 2011, Fourth Floor, Rackham Building
Water covers 70 percent of the Earth, makes up more than half of the human body and is necessary for life. But only 3 percent of Earth's water is fresh and less than 1 percent is available for human use. While much of the world suffers from lack of fresh water, here in Michigan we are surrounded by twenty percent of the world's entire fresh water supply, still in relatively clean condition. To live here means that we "know" water in our daily lives. Water is part of our consciousness and memory, recreation and imagination. Water is a source of pride and and a reference to what we think of as beautiful and dangerous. During the 2011 campus wide initiative "The Water Semester" the moment seems right to explore through the visual arts individual interpretations of this resource and to see in the hands of gifted photographers what they have to tell us of the science and magic of water.
The Primacy of Water: Photographic Interpretations is an exhibit of 35 fine art photographs from 17 artists who were juried in following a Call for Entries initiated by River Gallery on behalf of Rackham in response to the Water Semester, 2011. Artworks were selected to demonstrate the personal, diverse and imaginative interpretations of water. The political, the familial, the sacred, the recreational and majestic have all found their way into this particular artistic narrative of water. The photos are innovative, thought provoking and emotional. Most of the photographers live and work in Michigan, but we are pleased to include artists from Brooklyn, Atlanta and Toledo. It is our hope that this exhibit will provide an opportunity to pause and consider the individual, particular human experiences of water alongside the larger conceptual, ecological and political themes being considered during this most exciting and timely semester of... all things Water.
Curated by River Gallery Fine Art, Chelsea, Michigan