Daytime is full of chaos — you have your nine-to-five, family troubles, work drama, dealing with the political climate, traffic, etc. However, at night there is a different shade of the world that is being showcased. A quieter, more susceptible world. This is the emotion that Oakland University Art Gallery Curator, Professor Dick Goody, is trying to articulate to OU art students and the OU community at large.
“During the day you’re rushing around — doing stuff, at night, I think you can reflect upon things, reflect on existence for example, reflect upon dreams that you want to do … I think there’s a certain vulnerability that you have at night,” Goody said.
OU’s newest art gallery showing — open now through Mar. 30, 2025 — is titled: “Nightshade: The World in the Evening.” It is an excellent collection of contemporary photography, oil and acrylic paintings, as well as a unique video element in a side-showcase room.
When you walk into the “Nightshade” experience, you are immediately confronted by a wall of text that introduces you to the collection — a usual suspect in art galleries. After you turn the corner, the gallery opens up: the white walls contrast with the cool-colored paintings and photographs.
“There’s lots of blues and dark greens and violets as well. And you know — curating it — it was a question of finding things that reference nighttime, and I was surprised by both how little there was and how much there was.” Goody said.
When I was walking through the art gallery for the first time, I was initially overwhelmed by the amount of stylistic and interesting pieces there. But then, something happened — I peered further into the gallery, and while staring at the details of each work, I was then lulled into a sense of security and comfort.
The 5 to 7 p.m. art gallery debut did not make sense to me at first, but the more I explored and reflected on my day, I needed a good distraction. “Nightshade” does its job exceptionally well.
Along with the several mediums showcased at the gallery, there were artists from all around the country — even one from Sweden. Primarily, New York was where these featured artists called home, a fact I found odd at first, but fitting given additional context.
“We like to bring work from outside of the Detroit-Michigan bubble to here for students to get exposed to,” OU Art Gallery Manager, Leo Barnes, said.
Speaking of work from “outside of the Detroit-Michigan bubble,” let’s talk about the video-element from Sweden: Ragnar Kjartansson’s “What Have We Done to Deserve This” — an 11-hour performance piece.
The video is a repeat of the same line — found in the title — for 11 hours. There are no breaks, no confusion with the actors, they just do the same routine and actions, over and over again: say one line, sip their coffee, stare into the sunset, flip the vinyl record, sit down, stand up.
But what does that all mean, exactly?
“I knew of Ragnar Kjartansson’s work because I teach young artists about what’s going on in contemporary art,” Goody said. “[The film] spoke to me, because I felt like everybody is looking for a kind of sanctuary, a sense of peace, a sense of, ‘This is what I’ve been striving for,’ and it’s an odd thing to strive for and then actually have. You start to question, ‘What does it mean that I have this? This authentic thing? Is it real, or is it banal?’”
All of these complex emotions in “Nightshade” do not exactly meld together and create a comprehensive and accessible experience to casual viewers but keep at it — if nothing else, you will support the art scene at OU.
“We’re also open at night for theatre performances,” Goody said.
You can catch “Nightshade: The World in the Evening,” Tuesday through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m., and at night during Meadow Brook Theatre performances in Wilson Hall. You can also additionally support OU’s art department via donation or by purchasing the “Nightshade” companion-booklet at the OU Art Gallery.
