Revision: Vital Waters
The Sangre de Cristo located in Pueblo, Colorado, open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday holds a temporary exhibit of multiple photographers with a message of protecting and cherishing the life source of water. Vital Waters is described by the curator Jeanne Falk Adams (the daughter- in-law of Ansel Adams) “to invite you (the viewer) to engage with water in your own way.” The artists in the exhibits with most name recognition were Ansel Adams along with Ernest Brooks, and Dorothy Kerper Monnelly, with contributions from Scott Campbell, Chuck Davis, Ryuijie, Camille Lenore and Robin V. Robinson. The artists in this exhibit highlight their personal relationship with water and natural beauty that the world has to offer, since urbanization of the world has detracted from the balance of open space. The artists of Vital Waters bring in different open space from all parts of the world, Ansel Adam for the intriguing Yosemite wilderness, to Ernest Brooks deep sea diving photography, and from the cultural Japanese heritage of Ryuijie and Camille Lenore. All parts of the world have been explored by these photographers.
In Vital Waters the collection is done is all black and white photography, this was done through the process of gelatin silver prints, there are some outliers there were done with tone gelatin silver prints or through a different process of platinum/palladium prints making the photographs look lighter in tone than saturated black. All photographs are complemented by metallic silver framing which does not take the eye way from the subject matter. When walking in it is recommended that you start on the right side of the room. The curator there suggested to me that I should start on the right side of the room because that is the way Falk ( main curator) had put it together. The starting section of the room is titled Light about the deep-sea diving and refraction of sun in the ocean. This showed more of Ernest Brooks, Scott Campbell, Ryuijie, Camille Lenore and Chuck Davis underwater photography. Continuing with underwater photography traveling along the outside wall the title changed to Macrocystis only three photographs, were in this section, depicted the large kelp clusters. After Macrocystis it was Life Forms with a sea lion and a fish tornado. It showed the multitude of life forms in the ocean that can be lost due to human errors. Afterwards the photography started to travel above the deep waters and pictures of seascapes. This is where Ansel Adams and Dorthory Kerper Monnelly and Robin V. Robinson photography was introduced to the exhibits. Grass and Wetland to how air and water shaped the rocks and landscapes to waterfalls and everything else that falls in between natural beauty, along with some photographs of man's involvement with water.
The Sangre de Cristo’s walls were painted a dark gray giving the black and white a neutral background adding harmony. The lighting of the exhibit did not reflect on the glass of the pieces, which did not take away form the subject matter or annoy the viewer trying to see the art pieces. However, the lighting did reflect on the vinyl quotes attached to the walls, making them hard to see. Some sections of the collection could be bunched together causing a cluttered feeling. This happened in the Life From section because of long and wordy information cards. The information cards next to the photographs had the name of the artist, title, and date but some of them had poems or factual statements written on them. They took up more than the smaller ones and made the spacing look off. Nonetheless the information cards with poems and facts were a sentimental touch adding to the emotionally charge exhibit. Towards the end of the collection, it was a buildup to Ansel Adams. It provided context that Ansel Adams is the main artist of the exhibits and a nice touch to the collection. Also, what really worked for this collection was the introduction before Vital Waters. The Current Flows: Water In The Arid West by Colleen Miniuk introduces the idea of protecting water and being conscience of how we as humans use it. This allows the viewers to get into the mindset of what the message is in Vital Water “aesthetics, reverence for Nature, some understanding of and caring inspire engagement.”
Vital Waters at the Sangre de Cristo was a wonderful exhibit about how beautiful nature is and how important it is to human experience. Vital Waters is a collection and exhibit that should be enjoyed by everyone because there is a picture in there that will touch and resonate with any viewer. Whether a person is a photographer themselves, an environmentalist, an animal lover, just someone who enjoys complexity, and the simplicity of nature. Vital Waters is a well done and beautiful collection of artworks by a variety of artists who believe in cherishing water, grass, air, animals, and human life.
Bibliography
Jeanna Falk Adams, curatorial statement displayed in White Gallery’s Vital Waters exhibit, Sangre de Cristo Art Center, Pueblo, CO. 2021
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