Emily Rooney's Show

After checking out Emily's show, it was pretty apparent that she was really specific with the things she included. As you entered the gallery, there were four black carpets spread out in a line on the floor. They were partially rolled up in the spots where they touched, and there was a large assortment of objects lined up on top of the carpets. They ranged from some old grapes entwined with a belt to a pair of ceramic shoes on a pillow. I noticed that most of them were black (or mostly black at least) and that the only three items that had some color were located at the beginning, middle, and end of the line. Potentially significant? Maybe so...>_>

I keep looking around and saw a lot of other interesting things. There were several black and white photos on the walls of women and one of giant marble slabs. Each subject seemed to relate to something else she had included in her exhibit. The women related to the video she had playing in another room, and the marble seemed to be similar to the marble tiles mounted on a wooden frame which housed a large clay basin of sorts. 

Aside from the pictures and the video, much of her exhibit was displayed on the floor. In one spot, she had a long glittery chain coiled up on the floor with a blue peace sign painted onto it. Green and blue aquarium pebbles were scattered in amongst the chain as well. Nearby were ten cinder blocks arranged in a horseshoe formation and a line, and on a wall close to that was an arrangement of soldered metal rods, some on the floor, and some leaning against the wall. When viewed together, the rods spelled out "I *heart* U 4E" with the heart and the "4E" leaning against the wall. Things were getting more and more interesting. 

Throughout the exhibit, you could hear what at first sounded like some kind of strange, slow, meditative music or chanting playing in the background. But as you entered the last room of the exhibit, it became apparent that the "chanting" was really a video of a man singing at an incredibly reduced speed. Clips  showed an African American and a White woman dancing and eventually kissing and embracing at the end. It also showed the singing man's bespectacled face close up as he sang for several minutes before switching back to clips of the women dancing. 

Overall, Emily's show was very interesting and unique, seamlessly incorporating many different art elements and techniques to create a central connection for her work and for the viewer to enjoy.