Taking pictures of movies is sometimes frowned upon in the art world, said UNM senior George Richardson.
But Richardson said he photographed intense moments on the silver screen for his latest art show, “Come With Me,” which is up at John Sommers Gallery through Friday.
Richardson was working as a projectionist when he began haphazardly taking photographs of a movie.
“We were projecting a pretty obscure Russian science fiction film from the ‘70s,” he said. “I shot this image, and when I looked down at the camera LCD it just struck me, because it was these two characters engaged and just looking at one another, and there was so much expression and vulnerability on their faces — and the subtitle beneath it read, ‘Come with me.’”
Graduate student Roger Boulay, director of John Sommers Gallery, was in a class with Richardson when the project began.
“I’ve seen him work on it over the past year and a half over the various stages of completion,” Boulay said. “I think it’s an interesting project, because what it sort of investigates is randomness. What will the visual significance of (the line) be in the movie?”
Richardson has 20 images in the exhibit from films including “Star Wars,” “Terminator” and “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”
“It’s really interesting to see how this has come to flourish in the gallery, because all these images have this one phrase in common, but in some way they sort of give us an insight to George’s interest in film and contemporary media,” Boulay said.
Boulay said visitors to the gallery have enjoyed identifying the films and the moments depicted in the images.
“That’s one of the fun things about the show is, you go in, and immediately, I try to place it — ‘Have I seen this movie?’ and ‘What moment is it from?’” he said. “I think a lot of people, especially within the art community, have seen George working on this project in various stages, and it makes it really interesting to see the actual exhibit of the work.”
Richardson said his interest in film allowed him to illustrate the delicate changes in emotion and tone on screen.
“When this line happens, it’s sort of a keynote to this switch from one scene to another,” Richardson said. “There are kind of like these threshold moments between one decision and another. And when you’re watching them, it almost feels passive in a way, and as a viewer you may not pay attention to it.”
*“Come With Me”
John Sommers Gallery
Second floor of the Art Building
Through Friday
Free
*
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