Date of Defense

11-14-2011

Date of Graduation

12-2011

Department

Art

First Advisor

William Davis

Second Advisor

Adriane Little

Third Advisor

Ginger Owen

Abstract

Eileen Meslar, a BFA candidate in Photography and Intermedia, will be exhibiting at the Eleanor R. & Robert A. DeVries Student Art Gallery. The Gallery is located in the Richmond Center for Visual Arts at Western Michigan University.

Traveling the Tracks is a series of large-scale color photographs, accompanied by sound pieces, which highlight the people that travel a path along the Amtrak tracks in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan. While most people would not normally walk this route, there is fairly heavy foot traffic along the tracks between the Kalamazoo Transportation Center and North Park Street. The goal of this project was to find out who was making this trek and why. After taking a portrait of each individual, Meslar interviewed each person to find out why he or she traveled this uncommon path.

Viewers will hear the voices of the individuals telling a little of their personal stories and be able to stand face-to-face with a photograph of the person. This combination of image and sound compels viewers to pay attention to faces that they might often overlook while downtown, and essentially brings these people from the tracks right into the gallery.

The exhibition will be on display from November 14th -18th at the DeVries Gallery in the rear of the Richmond Center for Visual Arts. Gallery hours are from 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Thursday, and 10 am to 9 pm on Friday. There will be a closing reception on Friday, November 18th, from 5 pm to 8 pm. Meslar will give an artist lecture at 6 pm at the closing reception.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Restricted

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