I strolled the gallery circuit Friday with the rest of the beautiful people out for free wine and nibbles. The absence of Ed Vesneske at Image City Photography Gallery (722 University Avenue), left a void; he's usually a very strong promoter, greeting visitors right at the front door. Apparently, they no longer need an executive director, so Ed has become "less involved." No one knew what he's up to now.

It's a mighty strange coincidence that I watched the movie "Everything is Illuminated" this weekend after seeing Jessica Marquez's master thesis show at Booksmart Studios. Both of them deal with collecting family items. From my initial take of lots of empty space at Booksmart, I was almost overwhelmed with how much is actually in there.

For the past year or so, each time Marquez would travel to her native California, she'd ask her relatives for photos and trinkets, explain what she was doing, and leave them with a packet of catalogue cards on which to write memories, then return them to her. All of these items create a sort of "mini-museum" of her heritage. The catalog cards fill some of the 45 drawers of an old library card catalog (found through craigslist), and relay memories that read like random bits of diaries: what someone wore to their prom, an argument that took place or how a decision was reached, how grandma would buy them rotisserie chicken as a treat at the market. The rest of the compartments are filled with everything from baby shoes to photos to ID cards to hair to birds' nests to bullet casings, and lots and lots of butterflies.

A little stepstool is provided so that you can peek into even the top drawers and look into every single one, like I did. On the floor are desk drawers on legs made into display cases where other family heirlooms are gathered: report cards, christening dresses, toys, pipes, and even belly buttons, which I found to be a rather revolting/fascinating. There is also a photographic display of Marquez's healing process of a "bloodline" tattoo (a process by which no ink is used), a long stretch of fabric with the family's DNA sequence written on it, just beginning to be embroidered. Within this seemingly empty space there is so much to look at that she has provided a guidebook, "A Key to a Natural History," with correspondingly numbered push pins. Having spent quite a lot of time there, I still need to go back if I want to see it all. The exhibit runs through December 21; Booksmart is located at 250 North Goodman Street. 

From there I went to Steve Carpenter's invitational show. I'd never been there and was surprised at what a large space it is for a local gallery. Even large, it was brimming with people. I especially liked painter Lynette Blake's pieces; her subjects seem to have been pointed out to her by a ray of light from the powers that be.

Next up: VOA Bus Tour