“I Never Saw So Clearly,” an exhibition at the ASU Art Museum on display until Sept. 19, uses works from the museum’s permanent collection to examine the personal history of the artists whose work is on display.

The title of the exhibition was inspired by Cuban artist Jacqueline Brito Jorge’s “Nunca Vi Tan Claro Como Hoy/ I Never Saw So Clearly As I did Today,” a painting located on the introductory wall that shows a woman on an oval canvas with her face masked by two black and white squares.

Lekha Hileman Waitoller, curator for the exhibition and a curatorial assistant for the Art Museum, said she found the title ironic because the woman in the painting clearly cannot see.

“The black and white squares blinding the woman refer to narrow black and white views of the world,” Waitoller said. “The painting illustrates the question the exhibition is putting forth: How clearly do we see?”

Waitoller said visual arts play a large role in shaping perceptions about people, identity and history, among other things.

“The works in the exhibition examine the way people and history have been represented and challenge those norms through art that is specific to their experience,” she said.

South African artist William Kentridge’s print, “A Nicely Built City Never Resists Destruction,” uses the image of a boulder to represent the weight of history.

“Kentridge implores viewers not to forget the traumatic history of South Africa while insinuating that it cannot be overcome,” Waitoller said.

For Waitoller, the works of Kentridge, Jorge and other artists featured in the exhibition challenge traditional imagery from art history and popular culture.

“Many of the artists in the exhibition come from groups that have not always had the privilege of representing themselves within mainstream institutions,” she said.

Artists featured in the exhibition have different backgrounds and come from diverse cultures. Work from Native American to Australian artists is presented in the exhibition.

Faith Matelski, an ASU parent, saw the exhibition on Saturday afternoon and said she felt it allowed her to experience a different perspective.
“It gives you a perspective about people living in this country that maybe I haven’t thought about,” she said.

Matelski’s favorite work, titled “The Indian Lands Series: Indigenous 1992,” by Native American artist Jaune Quickñto-See Smith, uses mixed media and recycled materials to form a collage.

“You really have to get close up to see the details,” Matelski said. “The collage effect I liked. It gave a political statement.”

Waitoller said the artists’ personal journeys and experiences have formed and informed their work, allowing the pieces to move beyond the stereotypical norm.

“Through the use of personal narratives, these artists highlight and grapple with clichés, borders, power and disease,” she said.

Waitoller said she hopes visitors of the exhibition will be challenged to think about their own perceptions of people and history and how those have been shaped.

Matelski said the exhibition made her think about different perspectives.

“The exhibit gives you an idea of who the artists are,” she said.

Reach the reporter at lpalmisa@asu.edu .