Street Scenes exhibit gives snapshot of city life

Nichole+Learman+stares+at+the+Street+Scenes+by+artist+Ryan+Tucker+in+the+University+Center+on+Campus+-+Kylie+McCombe

Nichole Learman stares at the Street Scenes by artist Ryan Tucker in the University Center on Campus – Kylie McCombe

Nichole Learman, Journalist

Artist Ryan Tuck’s photography exhibit titled “Street Scenes” can be viewed in Roberta’s Art Gallery in the James R. Connor University Center until Oct. 24.

Tuck presents his photography in black and white photos on different size collages that included busy city street life in New York City and San Francisco. Tuck’s project took a long time to create considering that these photos were taken between 2016 to 2019.

I am a huge fan of street photography, so I really enjoyed viewing this exhibit. All of the photos on display really set the scene of what life is like, or used to be like in busy cities.

 One thing I wish I could have seen was these photos in color. Personally, I am a bigger fan of colored photography, but the black and white plus the collage style gave it an old-fashioned vibe that I also enjoyed. I would just like to see different collages with bright and vibrant colors.

All of his displays are displayed on a wood panel that he sands, seals, and primes. He painted the background himself with acrylic paint. He also added accents to the background, hand printed the street photos himself, and placed the photos in a collage format onto the panel. I can tell a lot of work went into Tuck’s pieces, and each one of them looked so unique and incredible.

“I use photos that all highlight one city so you get a sense of the diversity that each city brought, and a more complete picture of the environment than a single photo could ever do,” said Tuck.

Giving a more complete picture of the city’s environment is something that Tuck did successfully. You can easily spend hours looking at all of the different collages, and it really gets you thinking about the people in the photo.

Before I looked at the piece’s name I would try guessing what the city represented and symbolized. I also enjoyed trying to think about the people in the photos, and asked myself questions like: where are they going? What did they have planned for that day? How were they feeling that day? Doing this I ended up losing track of time looking at each collage.

The exhibit is a really enjoyable experience. The Roberta’s Art Gallery is located to the right of the main entrance doors in the University Center. The exhibit is free and open to the public.