Spots, Dots, Pips, Tiles: An Exhibition About Dominoes

 The curators María Elena Ortiz and Arden Sherman put together a very well orchestrated show. The sound of Conlon and Harker's performance piece filled up the silence in the room, and made me feel like a game of clinking dominoes was happening behind me. Each piece I came across had a different message and connection to dominoes. There were all sides and concepts including: falling dominoes, the community involvement, and the game of domination. There was a very Caribbean influence with artists from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and more. Each artist related to dominoes in different ways of course. For example Nari Ward related the game of dominoes, a mirror and pieces of a brown paper bag to the racial issue our country has faced throughout history. Figueroa created his own set of Dominoes from asphalt and street items like gum and beer caps to resemble the active streets dominoes are played on at home. Evans relates his hand painted stamps to the communicative aspects of exchanging information in the game of dominoes. 

 The idea of migration came to mind. People move to places and their cultures come with them. Many of the artists were born out of the country and migrated to the United States, bringing the game of dominoes as well as other traditions along with them. There was interactive pieces like Soto and Sulivan's domino table.The first piece that caught my eye when I walked in was below my eye sight, Kenny Rivero's, Juguetes. Without having read any information about the piece, I immediately thought about my boyfriends Dominican family and all the objects that end up on the floor during their family parties. I know my classmates and other viewers had different connections and ideas to the exhibition depending on their childhood, culture, and experiences. I left the show thinking about how much we all have in common in our differences.