The idea of home is something that is central to the human experience, and something that Ariane Crummer explores in her Bachelor of Fine Arts honors thesis exhibition. Entitled “House ≠ Home,” the exhibit focuses on what turns a place into a home.
Crummer’s inspiration for this project came from her experience moving from New York to New Mexico.
“I really started to think about what home was,” Crummer said in her artist’s talk during the exhibit’s opening. “I have a real fascination with the way in which people present the place they call home.”
“House ≠ Home” is set up in FreeStyle Gallery, a Victorian-style house located in downtown Albuquerque that was transformed into a display space for artists by owner Ralph Greene. The exhibit is set up in the front room of the house, which is smaller than many other modern art galleries, but ideal for a project focusing on the concept of home.
“It paints a picture of home, and we all have home, we all have a close, warm spot in our heart for home,” Greene said. “This is an eye-opener in the sense that the it visually makes it personal.”
From the first moment of entering the house, the viewer is greeted with personal touches that Crummer has placed in the gallery. In the entryway of the house, there are two pieces of art hanging on the walls, one by Crummer herself and the other, a drawing, by another artist that she had previously used to decorate her living space.
Moving further into the gallery, the walls are covered with photographs that Crummer has taken that reflect her idea of love and home. Along with pictures of people such as family and friends, the photographs also depict locations that Crummer associates with home, as well as several pictures of her dogs.
The photographs of the different houses are all placed together in one section of the gallery, allowing the viewer to compare the variations between them.
However, the exhibition is not purely devoted to photography. In the gallery, there are several pieces of furniture, including a table and chairs, a dresser and a bed. This furniture all belongs to Crummer and was moved into the gallery specifically for the exhibit in order to evoke her idea of what a home should look like.
“The way in which I chose to orient the gallery reflects my general understanding of what a home should be and what it should include, as well as what I think makes a home,” Crummer said.
To further emphasize the sense of familiarity created by placing her own furniture in the exhibit, the dresser and bed are covered with smaller personal possessions, such as decorations and stuffed animals.
Another interesting touch is a poster for the University of New Mexico’s homecoming week hanging near the bed, something that was designed by Crummer.
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The addition of the furniture to the exhibit creates a very intimate, personal environment. Placing her own furniture in the gallery allows Crummer to remove much of the barrier between the artist and the observer by giving visitors a close look at the environment that she calls home.
The fact that is not an exact replica of her house, but also shares the space with the photographs, produces a visual depiction of how humans conceptualize the idea of home.
Throughout the gallery, it is clear that Crummer has recreated her living space for the exhibit in order to enhance the feeling of home. Particularly notable is the area the recreates a bedroom, a space which holds an almost sacred place in the minds of humans since it is where most personal possessions are kept.
The experiences that helped inspire Crummer’s work and that are especially reflected in the photographs of her loved ones have also given her a sense of both wisdom and security that she will carry with her long after the exhibit has closed and she has graduated with her degrees in art and psychology.
“You can find home in people,” Crummer said. “More often than not, I’ve felt more at home because of certain people, and the place has really been irrelevant.”
“House ≠ Home” will be on display at FreeStyle Gallery until Nov. 24, and can be seen on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additional viewing hours are also available by appointment.
Veronica Apodaca is a culture writer for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted by email at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @veeapodaca.
