Reaction Paper 1: Gallery Opening

On Thursday October 5, I went to the opening of Maureen Drennan and Paul Gagner's joint gallery opening. It was a very interesting experience for me because I've never been to a real art gallery other than in a museum. It was very cool to see the actual artists there and to hear their inspiration as opposed to just seeing their art.
I enjoyed Maureen's photography because of the tranquility of the images. Even though the tone was often melancholic, there was a sense of peace in the composition and colors of her photos. The photos that I had enjoyed most were "Hair", "Waking Up in Sweet Home", and "Did Your Dream Drift From Mine", all off which featured her husband Paul. I liked seeing how a wife photographs her husband, and how it gives an inside look into the workings of their relationship. Maureen had talked about how her photographs of her husband had been influenced by his depression, and you can see how Paul was impacted in "Waking Up in Sweet Home". The use color in "Did Your Dream Drift From Mine"is very interesting to me because it makes the image very cool and moody, whereas a photograph of fire would typically be a warm image.
The interesting thing about Paul's paintings is the satirical and humorous take he has on being an artist, as well as his feelings towards himself. I enjoyed the series of "self help books" that he painted. The titles such as "No Skills? No ideas? No problem! Become an Artist!" and "Dr. Moseley's Guide to Hypnotizing Curators" were entertaining showed his tongue in cheek humor. It was interesting seeing some of his paintings that were self portraits like "The Portable Artist" and "The Artist, Rearranged, With Pickle" show how Paul views himself. It seems as though he thinks of himself as broken, but there is still humor in the picture, like adding a pickle.
All in all, I enjoyed the gallery opening. It was fun seeing the artists next to their work and being in a professional atmosphere. I would be happy to go to another gallery soon, and I hope that I have the opportunity to.