Hey, we can blog now! Will it turn into a 'thing'? Time will tell. I thought I'd start with what's going on with the Red Eye gallery right now. For those that don't know, the Red Eye is Photo's main gallery that introduces the department to the work of the incoming MFA students at the start of the Fall, hosts various shows throughout the school year, and wraps up the Spring semester with the BFA thesis shows.
Photo moved from Benson Hall during the 1980's into what was at the time a newly created space in the Design Center. Over the years the aluminum drop ceiling in the Red Eye has become literally bent out of shape. There's also been more of a call to get above the ceiling to install equipment for installations (audio, video, computers etc). There's nasty insulation up there covered in decades of dust. The tiles aren't always easy to remove and even more difficult to put back in place—often times they're not reinstalled properly and it shows. I've personally scratched my arms and ripped my shirt sleeves moving the tiles all while inhaling dust(?) particles that I also get in my eyes.
So we decided to remove it. Unfortunately, it reveals the rat's nest of plumbing and cables the drop ceiling was hiding. So after it got tidied up as best as it could, everything up from where the drop ceiling used to hang was painted black.
Chris D.