A.W. Thompson Photography Exhibit

A.W. Thompson’s photography exhibit was striking when I first walked in because of the complete lack of color. Each shot is black and white and provides an ominous sensation to the sequence of visions. It was also very informative. Along with the pictures he included facts and snippets of background to the images which helped narrate the intentions of the artist to the viewer. I appreciated this because it helped me actualize the story as I walked through the gallery. The picture of the protective suits in their individual piles made me think how mind-boggling it is that these heaps of rubber and cloth are what workers use to protect against the plutonium. In general the photos were mostly very clear digital looking prints. Texture was captured in detail on materials ranging from cloth to the stones scattered on the ground, and this helped to make it seem solid and right in front of you. The photographer didn’t try to use anything fancy to shed light on the situation. Instead he just lays these images out and allows them to have their own impact. I didn’t really notice the rule of thirds as being a prominent theme of this work. Mostly the visual patterns I noticed seemed to have the pictures separated in halves. There were several photographs that stood out to me. “Waste Characterization and Repackaging Glove Box, Rocky Flat Nuclear Weapon Plant, 2003" was one such photo. This snapshot is a clear image, but there are windows on each side that reflect a sort of a blurry otherworldly atmosphere beyond this protective box. I felt a true sense of the weird when looking at the gloves that seemed like severed, empty remnants of some human substance. My imagination grasped onto this inscrutable sensation and led me toward a gruesome thought, comparing the material lying on the table to that of a child ripped apart and individually packaged. Eeew, I know. Another picture that caught my fancy was the picture that showed the view from the Rocky Flat’s to Denver. How horrifying in its simplicity and the message it sends. I discovered a sight of environmental and bureaucratic failure is separated by a strip of desolate prairie from my beloved city and that is a message I will carry with me. In essence, I believe this was the artists intention. To leave the viewer with a simple, but effectively dramatic, representation of a situation in our own backyard.