We’ve all heard the saying that ‘life imitates art’, and in the case of an upcoming exhibit at Rò this Friday, let’s hope that the artistic sentiments put forth by Max Collins ring true for Buffalo’s future. The series of work that Collins plans on showing is in tune with many of the same sentiments that many of us feel regarding our highway interrupters in this city – highways that interrupt our parks, our waterfront, and our ability to roam freely throughout the city.
“I was inspired to create this series after coming across a study that was popping up on social media titled Freeways Without Futures, which featured several doomed expressways in our own backyard, including the Skyway, the Gardiner Expressway, and the Inner Loop in Rochester,” said Collins. “With four out of the 10 freeways on the list located in upstate New York, it made me think I should begin to document them simply for historical value, but I was also aware that these structures hold a much deeper sociocultural significance. The article as a whole reminded me of the countless highway projects that have occurred around the country in the last 75 years and how often they’ve turned into colossal failures for various reasons. These municipal catastrophes fascinate me, in that man has the ability to act on such a monstrous scale without foresight, and how that idea can apply to “progress” being made today. What’s happening now that we might regret in 50 years?
“For the show opening at Rò this Friday, I will only be featuring photographs I took of the 190 and the Skyway, but I plan on expanding the project in the future. The mixed media pieces that will be on display are photographs adhered to wood panels and textured to have an aged and weathered aesthetic from various materials I included in my process including dirt, rocks, and cement collected around construction sites in the city.”
Friday April 11th from 7-9 PM | Opening reception of Obsolescence – a new series of work by artist Max Collins. This exhibition will be on display at Ro through June 10th 2014.
Rò 732 Elmwood Ave Buffalo, New York 14222