How You See And Hear It at VisArts

When I go to art galleries, I escape into the visions of each wo>rk. The solitude takes me away to another place whether cheerful, vibrant, or unsettling. The current VisArts at Rockville exhibit, How You See It, includes a partial audio tour, so I wasn’t alone in my head when viewing certain photographs.

Gallery visitors can request a simple device with headsets to hear commentary about some of the photographs. The recordings are not in any particular order so when you find a recording symbol next to a photograph, you need to scroll through the artists’ names on the screen then click play. This allows the viewer to wander the gallery and listen at an individual pace.

If you want to see images of the artwork and hear the audio tour from home, VisArts has a brand-new blog (http://www.visartsgallery.blogspot.com/). The recordings by the curator, the artists, and the VisArts staff provide an excellent overview of this exhibit with images of the photographs.

Frank Goodyear, curator of the National Portrait Gallery, juried this exhibit and chose Saman Michael Far’s Saturday Afternoon II ($900), as Best In Show. His commentary ponders the future of black and white photography in this media-saturated world. Mr. Goodyear chose a brilliant variety of photographs, from Ground Zero to young flamingos. The natural lines and dark forms of Alan Sislen’s Antelope Lines & Textures ($450) set the eye in motion. If the shoe was real in Stuart Gluckman’s Talking on Your Cell Phone Can Be Dangerous When Traveling ($290), she’d be a goner. Scott Speck captures massive soaring columns with a pinhole camera in Archives ($600). However, Carole Hollander’s Dad Remains ($17,800), stays with you the most. She replicated a photograph of her father using his cremated remains without adding any pigment.

The new audio tour was like having a knowledgeable and engaging companion along for the visit.

The student photography exhibit reveals a world through much younger eyes, while the Children’s Discovery room’s bright new colors engage the younger art gallery enthusiasts.

How You See It will be on display until May 10, 2009. Gallery Hours are Monday to Saturday 10 AM – 5 PM and Sunday 12 Noon to 5 PM.

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