9/22/09 Stephanie Abraham: Luisa Wheeler at UTSA

Last week I viewed the "Far Places Close" show at the UTSA gallery. I went to see the work of Luisa Wheeler. The series of photographs she exhibited were that of a trip to India where she accompanied a friend. I found this work interesting because it seemed to be an inviting journalistic photo essay of daily life in this region of India. Each photograph seemed dramatic and stirred my emotions. I think the photographs were most effective in creating emotion because Wheeler seemed to capture people at a distance so as not to interupt them or their environment. It seems likely that most of the subjects did not know that they were being photographed. Something else that should be pointed out is the way that she is able to document ordinary urban society and make it appear unordinary. She photographed the every day situations that many people would fail to even acknowledge. I also enjoyed the humor in her work. The photograph, for example, of the women carrying large bundles of grass across the city street seems to reference that of the Beatles as they crossed Abbey Road.
Wheeler is also able to contrast her urban images with images containing a more rural backdrop. Overall, her documentation of India was beautiful. Vivid color and the people in their daily environment create dramatic images.