exhibition review

I visited Gallery 14 in Hopewell NJ. While there I decided to do my critique on the work of Rhoda Kassof-Isaac. At the time she was showing an exhibit called “Translations.” The photographs were not entirely cohesive. They were fluid by the pair or small bunch. It was immediately clear the pictures were depicting a far off land. This distinction was not due to any visible landmark; the pictures had an ethereal feel that looked unfamiliar.
All the photos were taken digitally. Each was altered to a different extent but all of the pictures had been manipulated with Photoshop. Luckily the women whom took the pictures was also the person working at the gallery. I was able to discuss with her many of the choices she made when it came to how much to rely on Photoshop. What was particularly intriguing was the variety in texture and effects that she created. Many of the photos were taken while in a moving car. After she used Photoshop many of her pictures felt more like water/pastel or even oil paintings.
There were no people in her pictures only landscapes and architecture. During our discussion she explained to me that her children have a house in Switzerland and many of the pictures seen in the exhibit were taken there. The space she showed in was very cozy and personal. Because there was other artist showing at the time viewers got a good feel for Rhoda Kassof-Isaac’s style. She likes to experiment.
Some of her pictures were unidentifiable. All of her images were in color. She printed about 10 inches by 14 inches. Some of her photos were physically scratched on the surface. From far away I thought the scratched pictures were extremely manipulated by the computer and amidst her other images they blended in. When I moved closer to these particular photographs the scores on the paper were visible. The actual surface was ripped down to the white. Rhoda described these pictures as experiments she thought were going to end up in the garbage. Instead they resulted in being a compelling addition to her show.
The photographs I viewed are part of a fine art photography only gallery. I thought this meant not documentary photography but soon after arriving at the gallery I realized documentary photography and fine art photography could be one in the same. Her work related to specific documentary concepts. All her photos were of a specific place. Switzerland for example is somewhere I have never been. The pictures that she took captured that location and aided my own perception of it.
The picture I am going to formally discuss was taken while in Switzerland. It depicts a couple red houses in an extremely green valley. It is very hazy and when I viewed it up close the pixels were overstated. It looks like she used Photoshop to enhance the saturation. The colors are vivid and contrast each other. As a whole the picture moves from dark to light starting at the bottom of the image. The bushes, which are one the bottom half of the picture and again through the upper half, create a pattern. The repetition of leafs makes the image have a rough textured quality. This roughness contrasts the soft, eerie, feel that the color creates. This was the most ethereal of all her photographs.
I was drawn to this picture because of the colors. It seemed like a dream place. Somewhere you can only imagine. If you really did exist in that place the colors would stay the say and the houses would always be that red. Out of the entire exhibit this picture made me think the most. I wondered, “how much are tickets to Switzerland.”