The Bodies of Michigan art exhibit put together by Natalie Giannos in Palmer Commons is located along the walls of the Windows Lounge. That immediately made it difficult for me to look closely at the images because in order to do so, I needed to navigate around all the people studying and invade their space. It also gave me the impression that while the images were in a public space, not many people were actually seeing them because they were so immersed in their own projects. That made me a little upset because I found a lot of the pieces rather striking. Therefore, I think a different venue would greatly benefit this exhibit if it’s going to run again next year — maybe something a little more intimate where the images can actually be observed closely.
The exhibit featured six images (there is a spot for a seventh image entitled “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not” Robin Rranza, but the picture looks like it was torn off the wall). The collection overall was very colorful, with images like “Bad Boy Rebellion” also by Robina Rranza and “Alternatively…” by Sonalee Joshi. I found this enjoyable because, despite the difference in medium, those two images captured two completely different types of people. “Bad Boy Rebellion” could be representing more of a party scene whereas “Alternatively…” seemed a little more hipster and low-key.
While the majority of this exhibit was colorful, there was one photograph that stuck out to me. Entitled “Loveletter” by Mackenzie King, it was a picture of a seemingly nude woman in monochrome. I really enjoyed looking at “Loveletter” because the centralization of light silhouetted the model’s body in such a way that emphasized her curves beautifully. The title of the photograph and its content really worked well together, and I enjoyed its simplicity.
Another image was “Goiters Caused by Coulrophobia” by Adrian Hanna, which presented a depiction of what looked like the interior of the human body. This was an interesting piece because it had some 3-D elements. The final image was entitled “I Know” by yours truly, a picture of my friends posed underneath a bridge in the Arb.
Overall, I think I would have enjoyed the exhibit a lot more had it been held in, for instance, its own room. Despite that, I loved the concept behind it and all the different interpretations of the human body.
