MFA Show.

The MFA show, despite it's lack of curation, seemed to work together pretty well.
A few of the pieces stuck out for me.

FIrst off the photos directly to the right of the entrance (there was no name up) I thought showed not only a great sense of craft, but an interesting subject as well. Particularly the one photo with the girl and the black paint splattered on her, I felt was effective.

The two landscapes by Caetlyn Booth, were...ok. I liked her use of color, and the actually landscapes depicted were nice and evocative. But I think the way they were painted I have a slight issue with, they appear to lean towards a simpler style, but their not quite simplified enough, but also aren't realistic looking enough, it's like they're straddling some line, and I feel she'd be better suited to go one way or the other.

Erin Dunn's installation was interesting, but I'm never sure how to actually respond to installations. I mean what's important? There are clearly a lot of things going on, but what to focus on is, I feel, an issue. I would have been happy to see her animation and images (I believe they were airbrushed) just hung up, along with all her wall decorations. The flowers, yarn, and chair, all those things around it, I'm just not sure what to make of all that.

Also the woodcuts and whatever the other thing on the hanging walls in the center of the main space, I liked those as well. Again, I think it comes down to the idea of they're a) cool looking and b) looked to require some effort to create. The colors cast on the wall from them I thought were neat.

On the other hand, the paintings on the back wall just didn't do anything for me. I'm never sure what to make of those things, I can enjoy abstract work, but I just don't get the color choices, and the look of those paintings. They're just not visually appealing to my eye.

Eillen Bhnke's paintings I thought were really well executed. I like the style she painted the people in, her use of colors like blues and teals in highlights, she made it clear that what you were looking at was a painting, and not an attempt at a photographic style image. The artist's style is clearly present in the paintings.