EXHIBITION: Pedro Meyer, Truth from Fiction

A new satellite gallery of the Lehigh University Art Galleries • Teaching Museum (LUAG) has opened on two floors of the Fairchild-Martindale Library, adding to a series of spaces where the Lehigh community can view the museum’s renowned collection of more than 15,000 objects.

An exhibition of large-scale photographs by Mexican artist Pedro Meyer opened the gallery on the library’s fourth and fifth floors. The show runs July 2 through May 24, 2019.

“Our whole ethos as Lehigh University Art Galleries has been to move beyond the idea of a unified museum with a single building in favor of a series of satellite galleries spread throughout the campus that bring art to where the students, the faculty and the staff are,” said Mark Wonsidler, LUAG’s curatorial associate for exhibitions and collections.

As an inaugural exhibition, Meyer’s work is ideal for a setting such as the Fairchild-Martindale Study Gallery, Wonsidler said.

“Meyer’s work operates right at the juncture of truth and fiction, which are ideas that run through libraries and literature in a pretty fascinating way,” Wonsidler said. “His photography is often compared to the literary school of magical realism where unexpected or improbable things happen with the kind of clarity of everyday events.”

A pioneer in the digital revolution, Meyer insists that all photographs are equally true and untrue, whether manipulated or not. He argues that digital manipulation continues the tradition of “straight photography” in which, for example, unwanted details are cropped out.

Though the gallery space is new, Library and Technology Services has long showcased art in the Fairchild-Martindale Library.

“Art is a natural fit for the libraries, a major hub of intellectual and social activity on campus,” said Bruce M. Taggart, vice provost for library and technology services. “We’re thrilled to provide an environment where the Lehigh community can discover and engage with art that challenges, intrigues, and inspires us, and at the same time, allows us to look up from our long periods of academic work, relax a bit, and enjoy art.”

To see images from the exhibit, go to luag.org.