Grown Up Play Date

Today was a grown-up play date. I met my friend Janice and we headed to St. Mary's college to see theirnHearst Gallery's exhibit: Dreaming in Color: Aboriginal Art from Balgo.

The pieces were all acrylic paintings on canvases, much of the work done by dipping a stick into paint and dotting the canvas to create patterns, although some parts were obviously done with a fingertip. All of the work represented stories of the creation of the world (called The Dreaming) and the stories of the strong creatures who made the rivers, hills and water holes. The paintings appeared quite graphic in nature, but only by reading the descriptions of the pieces was it at all possible to know what they represented.

I had hoped for more of the skeletal work, more of the stuff that I've seen in fabrics, so I was a little disappointed, which is a bit silly. These pieces each offered something wonderful, but spending time trying to "unlock the mystery" of the piece was a bit frustrating.

Oh well, art ain't supposed to be easy.

I'm looking forward to one of their future exhibits: in January through April they will discuss the Retablo tradition that exists in Mexico and New Mexico.

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