On Friday, Aug. 23, the University of New Mexico Art Museum celebrated the new semester with a reopening reception for their new exhibit, “Hindsight Insight 5.0.” The exhibit features art that investigates human relationships with nature, history and the future.
Curators selected one piece in the museum’s permanent collection to showcase: a book of microphotographs, according to Joseph McKee, coordinator of student engagement and technology at UNMAM. The exhibit also features work by four contemporary artists who are responding to the microphotographs or conversing with them, McKee said.
“We’re re-looking at our collection and looking at it through a new lens,” McKee said.
“Hindsight Insight 5.0” was initially inspired by the 19th-century book of microphotographs, according to McKee. English chemist Henry Droop Richmond compiled the book, though it is unknown if he took the photographs, which feature parasites, animal tissue, plant cells and crops.
The exhibit imagines the galleries as "a laboratory, demonstrating how research and experimentation are put into action through projects at the intersection of art and science,” according to UNMAM.
A piece by Kaitlin Bryson “We perform grieving as mutiny against established patterns,” features LED lights connecting bio-plastic encased photographs of a quilt stitched and dyed with the titular quote. The quilt was exposed to mycelium spores, which grew on top of the work. The title came from Bayo Akomolafe, a poet and philosopher, responding to the ongoing war in Gaza.
Other pieces in the exhibit include a bio-fabric corset made from SCOBY, the bacteria used to ferment kombucha. When touched, LED lights embedded in the material light up, encouraging visitors to engage with the material.
The exhibit also features bottles of fermenting kombucha, highlighting living things’ places as art and art’s place as a living thing.
“I feel like right now, especially in the 21st century with the rise of digital art and digital mediums, the importance of art is really rooted in context,” McKee said. “Sometimes we have a belief that art is only rooted in emotion, or only to be viewed and say ‘Oh that’s so pretty.’ Now, more than ever, artists are leaning into the cultural and historical contexts of (their works). It’s important to view art as a form of engagement to challenge the status quo.”
Many of UNMAM’s exhibits, including “Hindsight Insight 5.0,” relate to and supplement the work of other departments on campus, according to Associate Director Devin Geraci.
“We’re very focused on students. Lately, our curators have been working really closely with UNM faculty to develop exhibits that tie into the curriculum,” Geraci said.
UNMAM, located in the Center for the Arts building, is free to enter. It is open from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
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“We really see ourselves as an education museum, being situated on a university campus in New Mexico. There are a lot of museums you could go to, but we like to see ourselves as a resource for students," McKee said. "It’s important to us that we show off that we’re not just a location for the arts, but there’s avenues for connection all across campus, rather that be through STEM or through the arts."
Editor’s note: Joseph McKee worked at the Daily Lobo from 2019-22.
Addison Fulton is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
