Photo exhibit to feature street art of New York

By Tikko Mercado/ reporter

Black Dog, Rene West

A Texas artist will hold an exhibit of photos of New York on NE Campus through April 29. 

Amarillo College photography assistant professor Rene West will share her gallery of street art that she caught in New York City in 2014.

“It happened innocently enough,” according to her artist statement. “I was walking with my camera down an alley on Music Row in Nashville when I spied a fading image on an electrical box with a text overlay.”

West traveled in different states in search of fugitive art style.

“I enjoy the challenge of searching a new city for the area of town where this culture exists,” she said. “As a photographer, my aim is not to document this work, but to engage with it and find beauty in the random interactions between the city, people, weather and time.”

West’s exhibit is pictures of posters placed on top of older posters and naturally weathered down.

“The images are full-frame with no manipulation except to dodge, burn and adjust color and contrast in Photoshop,” she said.

Swan, Rene West

NE photography instructor Ting Huang describes West’s work as present and alive.

“You have music that’s written on a score, but it only comes alive when people play it,” Huang said. “With her photography, street art, they’re part of the city, and that’s why they look the way they do.”

An artist’s talk will be held at 6:30 p.m. March 30 in NCAB 1209. The works are in the NCAB NEO Gallery.