Having worked the entire summer, I felt as if my summer break just flew by and I didn’t get a chance to really do anything I had wanted/planned to do. I wasn’t able to visit any of the places on my art history bucket list, and I didn’t get the opportunity to take any of those weekend whim mini-tips to the beach or mountains. So, when the time came to get back into the swing of things at school, I honestly was not looking forward to it. However, coming back to Scranton did mean one thing: First Fridays. A monthly art student (or just art lover) outing to downtown Scranton on the first Friday of the month is a must to check out some really neat and inventive art.
I always look forward to First Fridays, and I had missed attending them over the summer. It’s fascinating to see what people are doing and making in the world of art and just how different those pieces can be. This month, there was also an art swap hosted by The Workshop where you could purchase art materials from others or leave your own unwanted supplies—a very useful idea for an art student at the beginning of a semester.
At AFA Gallery this month, I saw one of my favorite exhibitions to date. It was called “New Mythologists: With Great Power…” by David Mazure. A brilliant exhibition where each installation was accompanied by a story. One of an amputee, another of a girl who drowned in a swimming pool. The pieces were meant to tell that story in a way that was chilling. They were also a lie. As you exited the gallery, a pedestal tells you to take a piece of paper sitting on top of it after you had viewed the show. Inside, it simply says, “everything you saw in New Mythologists was a lie”. My expression must have been priceless. Genius. Absolutely genius.
