Northern’s Center For The Arts Gallery Presents ‘LOOK OUT’

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on February 9, 2023
- 9:09 pm

A group of nuns take a portrait with a whale skull on a beach. Courtesy/NNMC

Painting by artist Shane Tolbert. Courtesy/NNMC

NNMC News:

ESPAÑOLA — The Center for the Arts Gallery at Northern New Mexico College presents “LOOK OUT,” a special exhibition of visual art, dance, sound and film screenings marking the gallery’s reopening.

“LOOK OUT” is comprised of dynamic works by Arts & Human Sciences faculty Robert Beshara, Johanna Case-Hofmeister, Sneha Chakradhar, Mateo Frazier, David Lindblom and Shane Tolbert. The exhibit explores what is seen and heard, asking the question, “What is your point of view?” LOOK OUT – a phrase with multiple meanings – signifies a space intertwining each of these artists, filmmakers and performers who are actively investigating and connecting with the world around them.

Chakradhar will open the exhibit with a performance of an Indian classical dance form, Bharatanatyam, which has its roots in 2000 years of history. It is an interpretative dance style which uses gestures and symbols to narrate stories from ancient Hindu mythology. Chakradhar was trained by legendary gurus in India and was a senior dancer with the Natya Vriksha Dance Company in New Delhi. She has traveled the world as a dancer, performing at prestigious venues such as New York’s Lincoln Center and for former President Barack Obama during his 2017 visit to India.

Imagine being immersed in the sound equivalent of the spiral curve of a nautilus shell or the shape of a hurricane. That is the effect of Beshara’s sound installation, which uses chord structures echoing the Fibonacci sequence (the mathematical term for that spiraling form), creating the sonic equivalent of the golden ratio, a pattern used in art to achieve beauty, balance and harmony.

Case-Hofmeister’s striking photographs investigate human whale mortality interactions. A group of nuns take a portrait with a whale skull on a beach, a soldier at a military checkpoint in Mexico poses with a whale skeleton, a harvested Beluga in the Arctic looks directly into the lens.

Tolbert’s paintings explore the way images can be made by relying on chance and unorthodox materials. Tolbert incorporates plastic into his acrylic paintings to create texture and draw attention to the ecological impact of materials such plastic, especially in our high desert environment.

The exhibition will close with a night of film screenings and conversation between filmmakers Frazier and Lindblom.

“Land Water People Time,” directed by Lindblom, is a collection of stories depicting Northern New Mexico’s vibrant cultures, traditions and heritage. The award-winning “One in 7,” also directed by Lindblom and crewed by NNMC students, visits three men living in a men’s shelter who represent the 1 in 7 men who have suffered domestic abuse in the country.

“Things We Do For Love,” composed by Frazier, is a film about affection, family and odd funerals. The narrative shorts “Torcida” and “Carpio,” both produced by Frazier, explore the themes of love, deceit, culture, survival and risk. All three shorts were crewed by NNMC students and shot entirely in Northern New Mexico.

The Details:

When: “LOOK OUT” runs Feb. 16 – March 30;
Opening: 6–8 p.m. Feb. 16, featuring a dance performance by Chakradhar
Closing: 6–8 p.m. March 30, featuring film screenings of works by Frazier and Lindblom;
Where: Northern New Mexico College, Center for the Arts, 921 N Paseo De Onate, Española;
Gallery Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday–Friday.