Telluride Arts & Library: “Rust + Bone”

10 Nov Telluride Arts & Library: “Rust + Bone”

Telluride Arts & Telluride Library present “Rust + Bone,” photography by Riley Arthur, 11/2014 – 2/2015

The November – February exhibit in the Wilkinson Public Library Stacks features Digital Photography printed on aspen, eastern red cedar, cherry, walnut, birch, poplar and birds-eye maple, by local artist, Riley Arthur.

Riley Arthur, Gears

This collection is an ongoing project that challenges the artist’s concept of preservation versus trash, in the hopes to inspire more people to take an interest in their cultural archeology.

Having lived in Telluride off and on for the past five years, Riley Arthur has documented several mining ruins, which range from rusting coils in streams to mining structures that are preserved by local museums and historic societies. The sheer quantity of remains makes it impossible to maintain each site. Therefore, some sites are prioritized and saved, while others collapse with time. In only a few years span, Arthur saw drastic changes in some of the buildings and became fascinated by what might be considered a valuable piece of history or what might be left to rust and rot. She began to seek out hikes specifically to document this idea.

Riley Arthur’s work at Wilkinson Public Library

Arthur set out to explore what an object would look like in five or 20 years. Using Photoshop, she began to experiment with degradation, speeding up the decomposition process. By selecting fragments of an image, the viewer focuses on the details rather than the object. Her subjects varied from well-known mining buildings to long forgotten unidentifiable rusted machinery. In order to provide the photographs with a tactile feel that is present in the actual ruins, Arthur experimented with different wood types: aspen, eastern red cedar, cherry, walnut, birch, poplar and birds-eye maple. The frames are made of recycled barn wood.

Something old. Something new.

Riley Arthur grew up in American Samoa and attended Southern Oregon University where she completed undergraduate degrees in art and theatre. Since graduating she has gained hands-on-experience, traveled extensively, documented human rights violations in Slovenia that garnered support from the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship and grants from National Geographic, as well as working as an expedition leader and photographer. She is currently pursuing an MA in Visual Journalism at UCLan, in the UK.

Riley Arthur

All framed work is available for purchase. Limited Edition Prints (one per type of wood) are also available for purchase. For more information, pricing, or to purchase artwork, please contact Telluride Arts at 970.728.3930 or stop by their office at the Stronghouse Studios + Gallery at 283 South Fir Street