Time Freeze at Foley

Foley Gallery

Is time passing too fast for you? Slow down by taking a look at the Foley Gallery—you will not be disappointed. Martin’s Klimas’ collection of “Flowers” currently decorates the walls of the tiny room in Chelsea. Each photograph consists of gorgeous flowers standing in collapsing vases. Klimas’ goal is to capture time and movement through beauty, something unseen to the human eye. Time just moves too rapidly sometimes and it takes effort to capture and embrace the infinitesimal seconds of our lives. However, through Klimas’ photographs, viewers learn to appreciate these fleeting moments and integrate our own experiences of rapid changes in our daily lives.

Each of Martin Klimas’ nine photographs in the Foley Gallery focuses on a flower vase on the brink of collapse. Because we fail to appreciate everything in front of us, we don’t realize that one moment something can be solid and compact, but shattered the next. Martin Klimas integrates the course of all nature in just one photograph. The upper part of the vase symbolizes its past, the flowers as the present, and the bottom as its future. The explosive, yet graceful transformation helps the viewer realize how instantaneous change can be. Even the flower seems unaware of the situation that its in—it continues to maintain its upright position as its supporter falls.

Appreciation of the present is an important part of Klimas’ life. Aside from his flower exhibition, he had a past exhibit called “Temporary Sculptures” in 2007. Instead of vases, ceramic toy figurines were dropped and the sound of impact triggers his camera to capture each moment once. The one shot theme symbolizes the limited chances and opportunities we have in life. Therefore, time should never be taken for granted.

The vibrant colors Klimas chooses for each background enhances the focus of the picture. The darker shade of either the flower or the vase’s color in the setting helps the viewer focus not only on the center itself, but on the picture as a whole. By looking at it this way, each element of time is thrown at the observer simultaneously.  However, this promotes ambiguous feelings. The colors chosen gives the viewer a sense of serenity and relaxation, but so much is happening that it starts to confuse the viewer. Nevertheless, thinking on a more superficial level, the photographs are interesting to look at.

Though the Foley Gallery consisted of only nine photos, Martin Klimas took plenty more. His devotion to time and movement impresses me and makes this exhibit even more fascinating. His gallery is very unique—I have never heard of an artist capturing a theme this way and it is interesting to be introduced to it. My trip to the Foley Gallery made me love each photograph and hope to one day appreciate time as much as Klimas does.