The MET museum of art
New gallery opens in dean's office
Heidi Marston’s whimsical, colorful photographs create social commentary out of unlikely objects — fortune cookies, for example, or rainbow-colored toy springs. It’s an unconventionally blithe approach, she admits, but Marston (MET’07) has found that a lighter touch sometimes inspires deeper thoughts.
“Art tends to be really serious, and having fun with your work can kind of get to a more serious discussion more easily,” she says. “I think that oftentimes people forget that humor and lighthearted things can make for a better discussion than something that’s overly thought-out.”
Marston, who is studying arts administration at BU, hopes to prompt serious discussions at Metropolitan College for the rest of the semester: an exhibition of her work will hang in the University’s newest gallery space, the Metropolitan Gallery in Dean Jay Halfond’s office. The gallery will feature artwork by students in the arts administration program and the work will rotate every two months; Marston’s pieces will be on display until May 17.
“It’s helpful,” Marston says of this new opportunity. “I think the dean is hoping to create this dialogue between his office and the arts administration students.”
Marston, a graduate of Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, whose work was included in the MFA’s 2004 Traveling Scholars exhibition, combines her two favorite media — photography and drawing — in her work. The exhibition includes pieces from her Photographic Drawings series, which use multiple images to capture motion, and her Valuable Information series, which blend portraits and still lifes.
For more information, visit Marston’s Web site.