Transylvania University’s Morlan Gallery is currently hosting “Mnemonic Devices,” an exhibition examining how photography and videography shape what and how we remember. Focusing on the nature of remembrance, specifically whose memories are prioritized, the show seeks to explore multiple modes of memory as a way of understanding the world in which we live.
Emily Goodman, the show’s curator and associate professor of art history at Transylvania, was drawn to develop the exhibition due in part to her own interest in photography as a medium that viewers consider to be accurate despite its clear ability to be manipulated.
“I wanted to consider what it means to use photographs to aid memory and how images can connect us to the past,” said Goodman. “I also wanted to look at the ways in which the photographic image replicates the process of remembering — how it captures certain details and snippets, privileging those elements over others.”
The exhibition has already included an Oct. 17 film screening and artist talk by Joekenneth Museau.
“I sought out works that would address the idea of memory in various ways, in some cases personal, in others political, but all that challenged the notion that a photograph does tell us something exact and true about the past,” Goodman added.
Coming attractions include an artist talk given by Digital Liberal Arts speaker Michael Mandiberg, who will give a talk via Zoom on Nov. 1 from 6-7 p.m. Register here.
The exhibition’s programming will conclude Nov. 18 with the LexArts Gallery HOP and closing reception from 5-8 p.m. in Morlan Gallery, including a 6-7 p.m. curator talk with Goodman. The exhibition will close Nov. 22.
Admission to the gallery is free to the public. Morlan Gallery is open 12-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., with parking available behind the Mitchell Fine Arts Center.