Gallery Critiques

Student 24 Spring 2000

Art Exhibit River Walk

The River Walk was a very intriguing exhibition. I learned a lot about nature and its purposes. The River Walk showed different rivers in the South. The photographs of the rivers were beautiful and portrayed the rivers' natural beauty.

Art Pieces and Descriptions:

The Cahaba River in Alabama

The Cahaba River in Alabama is the longest free-flowing river in Alabama. It stretches over 190 miles long. It runs from an underground spring in the Appalachian foothills down through the Piedmont Plateau. This one rivers supplies nearly one million people in the Birmingham area with drinking water. The river empties into the mounth of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and into the Gulf of Mexico. The Cahaba River is noted for its hundreds of unique animals that live in it. These animals include various types of fishes, crayfish and salamanders. There are nearly 350 different types of freshwater fish living in the river. The South's rivers are known to be the most beautiful of all the rivers in the United States. These rivers cover nearly 250,000 square miles of land in the south. They run through lands from Virginia to Florida and over to the Carolina's through Mississippi.

River of Lilies

The photograph is known as the River of Lilies. It is a portion of the Cahaba River where luscious green lilies grow. These rich green lilies are full of life and growth. They represent the growth and development that goes on in this luxurious river. There are many things that are important in this picture. A horizontal line separating the background and focal point in the foreground, sets you at ease and gives you an overall calm feeling. The background is very foggy, attracting your attention to the front where the lilies are. The river runs though the lilies and fads away into the foggy distance. The rapidly flowing water reflects the calm and soothing rhythm. These are only a few of the many significant things about the photograph of the River of Lilies.

Cold Autumn Morning

This photograph is another portrayal of the Cahaba River. It shows in the distance, the sun coming up in the morning. The colors are warm, yellow, orange and green. They make you feel like you are rising with the sun. A man is in a boat in the middle of the river. Much like the Japanese people, the focal point is not on man, but on nature. They want you to appreciate nature and set aside man for a change. The water has a horizontal line going across it, showing the calm still morning. The trees are diagonal lines going across the river, leading your idea to the focal point of the rising sun. In this photograph, the diagonal lines could represent active and moving, for the rising sun. This is a beautiful photograph representing the beauty of the Cahaba river in the early moirning hours.

Functionalism:

Functionalism is shown throughout this exhibit. The photographs show the beauty and function of nature. The purpose is to show us that it is up to us to preserve our rivers and allow them to provide for us. They ask that you do what is known as River Walking. It consists of 6 simple steps. Take a canoe trip, know how to conserve, don't use harmful pesticides and fertilizers, learn about water supply and water demand, conserve precious water, and most importantly, share with others about what you have learned. By doing these things, you are completing the function of this exhibit, conserving our rivers. In the exhibit they had a computerized information station. It allowed you to hear the sounds of the rivers, learn about them and ways to preserve them. This exhibit was very interesting and I am glad I had the opportunity to attend.

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