I happened to see a Nick Ut post on Facebook yesterday showcasing a pop-up exhibition this weekend at the Arcadia Mall (400 S. Baldwin in Arcadia, California) which features some of Nick’s photographs. I was planning on going up to Pasadena already, so I made a detour on the way.
The photographs are good photojournalism, and I love the venue. There mall was packed and there was a constant flow of people stopping and viewing the work. The engagement was great, with everyone viewing both sides of the exhibition and I loved seeing some of the kids engaging so much. I love good museums and galleries but am a fan of taking images to the masses and this exhibition seemed very successful at that. The images are good and many I had not seen before. One that particularly stood out was Genaro Molina’s photograph of The United Methodist Church burning in the Palisades. The cross is prominent in the smoke, and the sanctuary’s large circular stained glass was gone, and flames were shooting out of the opening. The image is powerful. My only criticism is the frames are lightweight with low end plexiglass, so the reflections are brutal, and you miss some detail. But it is an exhibition in a public space on easels, the frames are appropriate for that. The Exhibition moves to the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda on Tuesday for a longer run. The exhibition has value and is worth the trip to see it.
The exhibition “AAPI Living Heritage” was organized by the Chinese Cultural Development Center. and was turned into two exhibitions together this year. One side has 40 prints themed the “Taste of China”. The other side is titled “Hope out of Fire” was curated by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Ringo Chiu and features 40 prints by 10 photojournalists who documented the Eaton and Palisades Fires and titled their group “Ringo and Friends”.
The Photographers featured are as follows:
Taste of China
Michael Nelson.
Hope Out of Fire
Jon Putman
David Swanson