Reece Museum

            Today I visited the on-campus gallery called the Reece Museum. The museum has been around for more than 80 years, and it has showcased the history, stories, culture, and contemporary art of the Appalachian region. Honestly, I would have never gone into this place if I didn’t have to for class, but I was very glad I did in the end, because it was amazing. I ran out of time and didn’t make it all the way through the museum, but I wound up going back and finishing going through it.

            The exhibit I most enjoyed was the thought-inspiring FL3TCH3R Exhibit (Fletcher Exhibit). It contains social and politically engaged art, and it was made in memory of the former ETSU student Fletcher H. Dyer, who was killed in a motorcycle accident when he was 22. His works contain deep messages about societal and political issues like AIDS, rape, race, the most recent presidential elections, sex slavery, and violence. In the exhibit, there were all forms of art like paintings, sculptures, cloth use, wood use, mirrors, and interactive pieces.

            One of the pieces that struck me most was a black and white photograph. In this photograph was a black man sitting on the side of the road in a lawn chair with the confederate flag. With as much racial issues as our country and the world has seen, I was slightly taken aback by the idea that some blacks might’ve been on the side of the confederates when the civil war was going on. Now, I don’t know about that for sure, but the photograph was very thought provoking.

            Another work that I found particularly interesting was a piece done with a book. A large book lays open. The pages are dusted in black spray paint, and there is a half covered quote on the book that you can’t really make out. In the center of the open book are two smaller pages from The Catcher in the Rye and the pages talk about how life is a game. Placed on top of these pages are see-through mesh with words on it. You can’t out some of the words but one side says something along the lines of, “I am so deep in life I cannot hear the clear signs of morning.” I am not really for sure what this piece represents, but it is beautifully done and very intriguing as it draws you in as you try to figure out what the words are saying.  

            One of my favorite pieces separate from the FL3TCH3R Exhibit were two side by side works. At first, I was very close so I could see what these pieces were made with. It was like a mixture of layers of paint and pulled-apart pieces of some sort of cloth or cotton. I was interested in the materials in the beginning, and because I was so close I had no clue what the layers of fused paint and cloth colors made until I took a few steps back. It shocked me the beauty of the picture that the artist had created—a forest at sundown, with light shining through the trees. I liked the fact that the art made you look up closely, then far away, and then drew you back closely to see how all the little pieces and colors made the full picture.

            Overall, the Reece museum was a great experience to see thought-provoking art and simply complex. I really enjoyed all the art and appreciate the time, thought, and effort that each artist put into their pieces. I will definitely go back to the museum for the next exhibit!