Memory Maps by Sue O’Donnell is a rather captivating exhibit which strikes me as being slightly nontraditional and full of meaningful memories, sparking many different emotions. The interesting use of digital photography with many words and phrases throughout the art creates a timeline like exhibit that flows extremely well. The modern look of the room the exhibit is set up in definitely fits with her artwork and due to the impeccable placement of each work, the entire exhibit flows from one piece to the next fluidly. While each piece complements the next, they all could also stand alone very strongly. A story full of memory and growing up can be quickly noticed when admiring the show. A theme to this exhibit is words, which exist in the majority of pieces making a great presence. Some of the pieces are framed in bold black frames, while others do not have any frames at all. Wisely decided, this simple factor does quite a bit for the exhibit as a whole. The variety of pieces and dimensions shown in the room are definitely admirable due to their creativity and quality. The only criticism I have for the exhibit is that I would have loved to see more art, especially to fill the pillars in the center of the room completely.
The piece entitled Memory Game definitely tells a story through pictures and text. The square ultra chrome prints on wooden blocks form a clean structured rectangle that stands out of the wall slightly. The squares go photo, text, photo, text and so on. On the table below the piece, small cubes are scattered about with no particular order. Like the piece on the wall, these cubes contain photos of a little girl and text that depicts stories. Unlike the black and white prints hanging on the wall, the ones printed on the cubes lean more towards a sepia tone. They also contain text in the form of phrases, rather than the stories that hang. Extremely clean cut, the two parts of this piece most certainly complement each other. While they appear different, they contain the same meaning and tell the same sort of story.
Fitting the exhibit perfectly, Memory Game is a very important piece, obviously representing memories. This piece in particular focus’ on growing up, containing pictures of a little girl in many different settings, making me feel as though I was flipping through a family photo album. The text all contain different stories, which almost seem like they could be from a journal, also reminding me of silly things I did as a child and other important growing up memories. The idea of commemorating memories and events into art is something I admire and enjoy. It also reminds me of how important it is to take a trip back on memory lane. When I look at this specific piece I can tell right away what it is about and see how personal it is to the artist. It also helps me understand the rest of the exhibit and appreciate it more. To me, memories, family, and growing up mean a whole lot to Sue O’Donnell, so much that she has created a great exhibit out of it, reminding me to also cherish these simple things, called memories.
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