Art allows artists to explore aspects of life they do not understand and present the results to others. N. King’s “Untitled Series” exhibit attempts to show that art might be better appreciated by the viewer when it is not easily understood.
The exhibit is currently on display at the Elements of Art-Gallery through June 30. King, a senior in photography, will be introducing the exhibit at tonight’s opening reception.
“(King) makes a statement,” said Roman Czech, owner of the gallery. “(The exhibit) shows not just the human body, but also human sensitivity.”
The exhibit consists of a series of photographs of a person in various positions with a large black hole in the midsection of the body. This spot represents a void in either the person’s soul or life. It is up to the viewer to decide which. Each image represents a different character.
“Each character is the same person, but each has a distinct personality,” said King, who asked to remain gender anonymous.
The artist makes a distinction between aggressive and submissive natures in two sets of images.
The submissive set is laid on the floor and is printed on canvas. This makes the images feel softer and gives a peaceful feeling. Though they are photographs, the images are meant to have a hand painted feeling, King said.
The artist used long exposure to signify that time has passed though the length of time is unclear.
The aggressive set is printed on cyanotype, a thin cloth that is nearly transparent, providing a distorted image.
“It’s kind of like a veil, so you do not see the subject much… it protects the identity of the person,” King said.
This set of images, taken with a pin-hold camera, is meant to be violent and chaotic. Each image is a performance by the subject and the result is several images of the same subject overlaying one another.
The artist said the photos were taken from a bird’s-eye perspective and he wanted to display them from that perspective as well.
“(The artist) used imagination and feeling about life and form,” Czech said.
The Elements of Art-Gallery’s focus is uniqueness. The artist’s photography is unique, Czech said.
“I saw tremendous potential in (King),” Czech said.
King has been accepted to a graduate school in San Francisco. The artist plans to attend eventually, but not immediately after attaining a bachelor’s degree.
The opening reception for the “Untitled Series” is tonight from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., where viewers will be able to meet King and view the exhibit. The Elements of Art-Gallery is located at 507 N. High St.
