The annual Student Exhibition at the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University collects photographic work from students gathered across the full spectrum of Boston area universities. It is by nature democratic, making no delineation between art school and liberal arts, freshman and senior.
Universities included in the show include not only BU, but also schools such as MIT, SMFA and even Fitchburg State College. These factors make the exhibition incredibly diverse; in fact, this diversity is one of its more interesting aspects. Exhibitions set up in small spaces such as this tend to specialize rather than offering a wide-ranging examination. The PRC Student Exhibition differs in that it gives viewers a full glance of a developing Boston art scene.
The show's variety represents a snapshot of an entirely new generation of photographers. This is student work: at times it's awkward, at times insightful. Whichever the case, the work is truly inspiring. Photos like sketches show artists exploring without impediment, and with no end of creativity in sight. What the photos may lack in execution, maturity or technicality, they more than make up for in sheer wide-eyed freedom of vision.
Among the pieces that particularly stood out from all others, Erin Erikson's "Untitled" from his series "Potted Plants" shows, unsurprisingly, potted plants hanging above a few forlorn washing machines in a deserted Laundromat. A quick glance at the photo is enough to see in it the feelings of isolation and loneliness that often inspire photographers, but this piece goes beyond the clich?©. The bright greens of the cascading plants add a note of humor. As they fall from the top of the frame, their tropical exuberance belies the heavy, still quality of the washing. The colors are a beautiful study of deadpan whites and grays contrasted with the organic shades of the plants.
Continuing the laundry theme is Edmund Ming Yip Kwong's "Sunday Afternoon at the Laundromat." MIT is known for its sciences and engineering, which Kwong's photo speaks to quite clearly. In a black and white print, Kwong presents a bored man in front of a flat, heavy grid of dryers. The dryers repeat endlessly in the background and move towards the viewer on the side, looking like so many computer monitors. Impenetrable and unfathomable, the symbol of the dryer becomes a futuristic study of glossy electronic equipment. Repeat, spin, and repeat.
Presenting another point of view is Massachusetts College of Art student Brian Doan's "Orange - CA" (2006), a glossy, large archival inkjet print showing a woman in a bikini bathed in light and standing in between hammocks with an elderly figure in the foreground. The beauty of this piece is its unabashed concession to simply looking pretty: the yard is dappled with light, the colors are bright and luscious, and the repeated hammocks border the subject, giving it a great composition. This isn't to say that the photo doesn't lack depth. The two figures represent the mysterious, provocative relationship between viewer and viewed, ugly and beautiful.
Alexandra Mulcahy of Emerson College's "Cascade," a more traditional gelatin silver print of a pair of legs parading across a reflective floor in a flowing, feathered gown, is incredible in its detail. The feathers present an intricate counterpoint to the smooth skin of the legs. Besides this study in texture, the composition is spot on, divided by the end of the floor, the molding and a white wall. Its almost sepia color further brings out the piece's delicate nature.
As a whole, the Photographic Resource Center's Student Exhibition is a provocative look at what will become Boston's newest generation of artistic documenters. These students have the ability to create and fulfill a presentation of the area's artistic atmosphere, from photos of empty streets to buildings standing flat against an encroaching sky.
The exhibition is, without a doubt, one to be seen, proving that Boston has an art scene worth supporting. It is a innovative exploration of the many possibilities of photography, both documentary and artistic but always creative.
