I finally made it around to the California Museum of Photography in downtown Riverside, CA. I have few fond memories of the area. I was stationed at nearby March AFB back in the day. I hated it. The only thing worse than Sunnymead (Moreno Valley), was Riverside. Wait, no… San Bernardino was downright awful too.
30 years later I’m back. I expect a rundown dirty downtown area. Instead, I find a lot of pedestrian-friendly re-development. The whole area is under construction, you can tell they are trying to upgrade the area to something that will encourage visitors. I walked around a bit and actually enjoyed looking at the public monuments.
The California Museum of Photography is in an older building in the middle of a pedestrian mall on Main Street. The museum is well maintained and spacious with three floors of open exhibit space and friendly student staffers. I visited on a Wednesday. I was the first visitor and had the place to myself while I was there.
There were four exhibits.
- Sight Unseen – International Photography by Blind Artists.
- Agent Orange – Landscape, Body, Image.
- Concrete Abstractions – A gift of Photographs by Aaron Siskind.
- Joshua Tree 2009 – A collaborative art event.
I went to see Sight Unseen on the advice of my friend Imogen. The exhibit was worth the trip. I could not understand how a blind photographer would produce images worth viewing. I was stunned by what I found. I particularly enjoyed the work of Pete Eckert.
Gerardo Nigenda incorporates brail into his printed works. The Patio at the Manuel Alvarez Bravo Photography Center, featured on the left, is a great example of excellent photography and tactile modification. You can touch the image while viewing it. I enjoyed the process.
Agent Orange was disturbing. Billed as Landscape, Body, Image, it is a collection of disturbing photographs of people suffering the from the aftermath of Agent Orange use in Vietnam. I have a thick skin. It did not help. I looked at the images quickly and walked away. It made my heart hurt.
Suffering and Smiles, by Minh Duc Doan, is typical of the images from the Exhibit. You can view more images at the museum website.
Concrete Abstractions was interesting, but it was ultimately filler. I’ve made dozes of similar images and saw nothing that really sparked my interest. There is no doubt that Aaron Siskind is an amazing artist. I’m just saying that the exhibit was uninspired. These photo’s were displayed on the second floor in an awkward display space. I think that contributed to the problem.
Joshua Tree 2009 was displayed on three flat screen TVs. It is a collection of 74 photos from local photographers. Some of the images were outstanding, some were just average. This image , Campsite, is by Kaitlin Johnson. It strikes a cord with me. I’ve been the camper a few times in my life. I’ve watched many a moonrise over the barren rock of this beautiful place.
I enjoyed my visit. I plan on returning as the exhibits change. I have one last comment. The Museum website blows. The have one URL and no permalinks to the individual exhibits. Who does that these days?