Twelve international artists from various global communities came together to better understand love through photography and videography in “LOVE: Still Not the Lesser” at the Museum of Contemporary Photography. From conveying couples turned caretakers, queer parenting, politics, distance, intimacy, and more, the exhibit bursts with color, contrasting modes of media, and many painfully true images of what love can represent to so many.
The numerous variations and representations of love in the current exhibit in the MoCP at 600 S. Michigan Ave. has Columbia College Chicago students enamored.
“It made me feel more at home and more at peace, especially as a queer woman from a more conservative state,” said Emily Honey, a freshman photography major at Columbia College Chicago originally from Texas. “It gave me something I didn’t know I was missing.”
While queer love is extremely prominent in the exhibit, life and death is another strong and distinguished theme as well.
“Love is really the only thing we have that stays,” said Madison McIntosh, a junior fashion product development major at Columbia., “It’s there from the time that we’re born to the time that we die… when you’re on your deathbed, all that matters is the love you have in your life. It’s about the people surrounding you, family, friends, lovers, whatever.”
Some pieces stretch from floor to ceiling, while others sit in a golden frame or simply speak for themselves as they play on a loop.
For Conner Ryan, a junior music business major at Columbia, it was his first time visiting the MoCP. “A lot of the pieces stood out to me… the short film with music going on a loop put me in a trance,” he said. Similarly to Ryan, many Columbia students visited the MoCP for class. “I am not super into photography, it is hard for me to dive deep into pieces, but I thought the exhibit was great and I am definitely going back for future ones,” he said.
Whether you attend for pleasure or for a grade, “LOVE: Still Not the Lesser” has a message for all that come to view the exhibit, “Love is a right of existence,” said MoCP Associate Curator Asha Iman Veal.
“LOVE: Still Not the Lesser” is on display until Dec. 22. Those interested can visit https://www.mocp.org/ for more information.