Signs of Life Gallery

Signs of Life, by Ted Morgan and Angie To, at the Fosdick Nelson Gallery at Alfred University was a exhibit featuring paintings by Angie To and photographs by Ted Morgan. These pieces together created a feeling of absence as the photographs did not have full meanings or objects but rather empty, normal objects as the paintings were not distinct and you had to look deeper into the images and paintings for a meaning and purpose.

A piece that caught my eye is Green House #4 by Angie To, this paintings is an abstract painting with few colors. This painting caught my eye because of the simplicity of the back ground, yet the foreground itself brings the paint out and makes it ‘pop.’ What I also enjoyed about this painting is that the viewer can see the painting is about flowers and nature but is chaotic and crazy as if there is more to it. This painting makes me feel confused but calm at the same time as I feel that is what Angie To wanted views to feel when looking at this abstract artwork.

A lot of Ted Morgan’s photographs were unnamed, like this one of a multitude of photographs of different empty objects such as a laundry basket, slide and more. This gives me a feeling of emptiness that a multitude of his photographs gave me while looking threw this photographs. I believe by not naming his photographs makes the viewer think for themselves about what is the meaning of the photographs instead of telling a generalization of what the viewer should be thinking about.

This was another unnamed piece by Ted Morgan that was a woman with her eyes closed and chin looking up to make the piece more interesting making the view think about what the woman is going threw and what she is thinking. The image is also in black and white making the view think about what could be going on around her instead of it being shown. I also believe with having the woman not looking it gives a feeling of absence into her making her feel alone.

I believe the artists, Ted Morgan and Angie To, wants the viewer to think for themselves about what the paintings and photographs are about instead of making it obvious. I also believe that all the pieces had a feeling of emptiness and absence that make you think or worry about the image.