Emily Rodgers –In search of

            In Emily Rodgers' mfa thesis exhibit She focuses on houses and their intiors , particularly in the Reno area west of wells.  All of her pictures in this exhibit do not contain any people, forcing the viewer to focus on the space, forms, and lines that the buildings create.  In her thesis presentation she explained how she likes to show hints that people have lived in these houses without actually showing the people.  She accomplishes this by including details such a dent in the wall, wear patterns in a carpet, and tire tracks in the snow in her photographs.  She is interested in finding a story but leaving some parts of it unanswered. 

            In here thesis presentation she talked about her method of finding homes to photograph.  She would look through old newspapers and look for events that happened in the particular neighborhood she was interested in.  She would take advantage of the fact that old newspapers used to print the addresses where things happened and she would revisit the houses.  She would explain to the owner what had happened there and often the owners of the houses would be intrigued and let her take pictures of their home. 

            My favorite work in this exhibit (Unknown name) is of a window sill that is painted white and the paint on the top has been worn away to expose the green and brown layers under the white.  There is a light ray and shadow being cast by an unknown source  that creates vertical lines in the scene and some interesting tonal gradients.  The only lines in this piece are horizontal and vertical lines giving the piece a Piet Mondriaan feel. 

            Another piece in this exhibit I found interesting is of a door with light shining through the edges.  This piece has many subtle details that suggest a story, yet like Rodgers wanted, the full story is left untold leaving the viewer searching through the photo for more.  There is a wearing in the carpet that suggests that this scene has been through a lot of repetitive foot traffic throughout the years.  The blinds in the window hang down crooked showing their age.  The dirt on the door hints that little kids live (or lived) in the house.  And the light creeping around the edges of the door suggest that outside of this old musty house it is a nice and sunny day.  These details definitely tell a story, although it may not be entirely clear, which serves to peak interest in the viewer. 

            Emily Rodgers exhibit “In search of” is an interesting and well-put together body of work.  All the images in this gallery fit together and compliment each other nicely.  Rodgers was very successful in accomplishing what she set out to do: to tell parts of a story, while leaving just enough out to make the viewer interested.