Artist

First Thursday opening reception, 6 to 9 pm, March 5th 2009. Lectures by Andy Freeberg & Susan S. Bank: Sat., March 7th, 2009 @ 3pm. Exhibition runs March 5th through March 29th, 2009.

Guardians

In the art museums of Russia, women sit in the galleries and guard the collections. In his latest work, Critical Mass book finalist Andy Freeberg has documented these Guardians with humor and grace.  Not since Elliot Erwitt have the goings on among the world's great works of art been so wryly and insightfully depicted.  Artworks become part of the background-the back story-of the women who guard them.  Freeberg says, "when you look at the paintings and sculptures, the presence of the women becomes an inherent part of viewing the artwork itself. I found the guards as intriguing to observe as the pieces they watch over."  

Through this project, Freeberg couldn't help but soak in the stories of these patient sentries.  He says, "In conversations they told me how much they like being among Russia's great art. A woman in Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery Museum said she often returns there on her day off to sit in front of a painting that reminds her of her childhood home. Another guard told me that she travels three hours each way to work, since at home she would just sit on her porch and complain about her illnesses "as old women do." She would rather be at the museum enjoying the people watching, surrounded by the history of her country."  Through Andy Freeberg's  Guardians, our own experience as a visual art viewer is heightened.  We can't help but wonder what story that tells about us.