“Love Me Not” reexamines romance
The “Love Me, Love Me Not” art exhibit currently showing in Gallery 239 of Memorial Hall gives the viewer the opportunity not only to view art, but also participate.
Although Valentine’s Day has passed, this exhibit has a romantic theme, or a not so romantic theme, so there is a little something for both the lovers and haters of all things romantic.
The exhibit is made up of love quotes, romantic or completely unromantic paintings, and photographs. The best part is the contrast. One wall is all about love, the other about heartbreak, and the third wall is something in between.
There are several photos on the walls that have everything from kissing to yelling, exhibiting the good and the bad things about every relationship. My personal favorite print is a re-creation of the famous D-Day kiss. Above it are the words “P.S., I love you.”
One of the quotes featured is “Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable,” from The Wizard of Oz. This and several other quotes on the heartbreak wall are made up of splotchy, angry lettering. On the other hand, quotes on the contrasting wall such as “Kisses are a better fate than wisdom-” E. E. Cummings, are all done in curly, fancy writing. The emotion of the quotes are not just in the words, but also in the fonts themselves.
The exhibit primarily features two large hearts on opposite walls, one red and one black with contrasting “playlists.” In the red “love me” heart there are songs listed including “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” by Elton John, “Animal” by Neon Trees, and “My Valentine” by Martina McBride. In contrast to the “love me” heart is the large, black broken heart under “love me not” which has a playlist including “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Stevie Nicks, “Before He Cheats,” by Carrie Underwood, and “Over You,” by Daughtry.
I thought the idea behind this was great, because sitting beside the “love me” heart was a CD player, which I hoped would include the playlists. As it turned out, there was no CD in the player. While I thought the concept of the playlists was a good one, I was sorely disappointed in finding out that I couldn’t actually listen to the songs.
Luckily, there was a third playlist under the category “love me… love me not. You decide.” Beside this piece, there was another CD player with the CD in it. This gives those visiting the opportunity to listen to the CD, then interact with the art. Viewers can remove one of the “love me” or “love me not” plaques and place it next to a song. Some of theses songs include “Whiskey Lullaby” by Brad Paisley, which gallery viewers deemed as both “love me” and “love me not.” “Nineteen” by Tegan and Sara, was classified as “love me not.” “Fall Apart Today,” by Schuyler Fisk, was categorized as “love me.”
Interaction with the art seemed to be a common theme in the exhibit. The most fun piece in the room was a poster that looks like it is from the fifties of a man pleading with a woman. Beside it, there are the instructions “Caption this picture,” with pencils and slips of paper. People who have visited the exhibit have put up captions like “How was I to know she was your sister?” and “I thought you said you were on the pill!!”
Another piece in the gallery is a red background with a magazine page from Women’s Day titled “Read My Lips.” The article is about what a person can tell about oneself from his or her kiss mark. Visitors to the exhibit can use lipstick samples, kiss a piece of paper, then pin it up to the board.
The exhibit gives the chance for viewers to interact with and be a part of the art. I thought this made the exhibit fun and interesting, despite the fact that the CD was missing.