Review

"Cudalbi Women", Photographic Print.

Andrea Nigh
Viata: Life in Romania

11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Hilliard Gallery
404 E. 18th St.
Kansas City, MO
816.561.2956

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday
Runs through: Nov. 28

Artist's site: http://www.andreanigh.com
Gallery site: http://www.hilliardgallery.com

One of the dangers in taking pictures of people and their hometowns is that the subjects can become objects: a collection of curves and surfaces to reflect ight, rather than real people and places with names and histories and personalities. Another is the tendency to want to embellish reality, to make things seem more dramatic, or decrepit, or glamorous than they really are. 

Andrea Nigh avoids that pitfall in her photo essay, Viata: Life in Romania. The photojournalist-turned-portraitist brings both skill sets to bear here, without veering unduly into detachment or sentimentality.

That said, Nigh's photographs, on display this month at Hilliard Gallery in the East Crossroads, show a deep and genuine regard for the village of Cudalbi and its inhabitants. (The show also  contains images from Transylvania, including the castle which was  home to Vlad Tepes -- the real Dracula.)

Viata is the word for life in Romanian (a language akin to Italian); It is the best word to describe the Romanian people and their culture, Nigh writes. In the face of poor living conditions and post-Communist regime, they are still a vibrant, happy and resilient people. 

How poor? Appallingly so, by our standards -- at least materially.

The majority of these people survive on a monthly income of $60 and live without running water, electricity or modern day luxuries -- objects we take for granted on a daily basis, Nigh continues. And all the while they are hospitably, gracious and giving with what they do have.  .... This essay is not only a reflection of the living conditions and reality for the people of Cudalbi; it is also a celebration of their pride and culture -- a culture that, although it seems poor in many ways, is very rich in family, land and "Viata".

There's a lesson there, obviously. Several, really. One is that even in the current struggling economy, this is still a rich nation compared to much of the world. Another is that "stuff" isn't as important as friendships and family. And yet another is that we don't really need all the things we think we do.

And a deeper lesson -- which Nigh teaches without preaching -- is that art can open eyes, minds and hearts not only to other lives and places, but also to a deeper appreciation of our own.

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