Leo Villareal – Animating Light @ Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV 2011

Leo Villareal - Animating Light @ Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV 2011
Leo Villareal's name in 'lights' at the Nevada Museum of Art...

Shooting Albuquerque, NM turned New York City’s LED / computer software-based artist, Leo Villareal’s exhibit, Animating Light, at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, NV this April was as much a fun and exciting experience as any sold-out show to-date.

In fact, this shoot was my second trip to the Nevada Museum of Art to take in this gorgeous installation of technology-inspired lighting simulations on display for public administration.  Ahem, consumption.

The first time around my trusty D7000 was left at home … which, in retrospect, actually worked out quite well, as the museum stays open late on Thursdays, and was practically empty by the time I arrived shortly after 6PM.

Leo Villareal - Animating Light @ Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV 2011
1st floor installation of Leo Villareal's work at the Nevada Museum of Art...

Upon entering the Nevada Museum of Art, I was greeted by the friendly staff and was recommended taking my monopod out to the vehicle, as security might ask me to leave if it were in use inside of the 3rd floor exhibit.

I gladly agreed, and came back in to snap a couple quick clicks of the 1st floor installation pictured above.  During our first visit, my fiance stood in front of the installation for a profile picture iPhone shot … which turned out to be a favorite of hers for some time on Facebook.

Leo Villareal - Animating Light @ Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV 2011
Fluorescent lighting cycling through software-controlled programming by Leo Villareal...

Heading up to the 3rd floor of the Nevada Museum of Art, we were welcomed by a square grid illuminated by a progressive and seemingly never-ending array of programming  by Villareal, of which there are several shots in the full gallery for our readers’ viewing pleasure.

Leo Villareal - Animating Light @ Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV 2011
Opposing installments of fluorescent lighting controlled by computer programming...

Walking through the exhibit, we saw several other small groups of interested parties caught gazing deeply into a ‘techno’ lighting display pretty early on a Thursday eve.  These folks were not afraid to let the unknown enter their sphere as this Burning Man-esque display of light and it’s refraction took full effect just around the corner.

Leo Villareal - Animating Light @ Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV 2011
Reflections of other installments along with a finely-polished concrete floor offering a soft touch...

Showing exactly how light can be harnessed and used as an artistic medium, Leo Villareal’s installation, Animating Light, includes over a dozen different pieces and is finishing out it’s span of three different floors over it’s two month exhibition at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, NV.

As mentioned earlier, we were lucky enough to take in the exhibit more than once, and one of our favorites was the circular piece pictured in the shots below.

Leo Villareal - Animating Light @ Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV 2011
A circular installation generating organic, moving patterns on display as part of Animating Light by Leo Villareal...
Leo Villareal - Animating Light @ Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV 2011
Close-up shot of the circular organic pattern generating device...

Before we left, a small group of young visitors came into the gallery and were immediately drawn to the large rectangular installation pictured below.  We thought it reminded us a bit of a psychedelic and healing journey across the African planes at sunset.  How about you?

Leo Villareal - Animating Light @ Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV 2011
A small group of visitors in front of the large rectangular installation by Leo Villareal...

 

VIEW THE FULL LEO VILLAREAL: ANIMATING LIGHT GALLERY HERE


Camera(s) Used:

Nikon D7000

Lens(es) Used:

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D



Go On, Treat Yourself to Something Nice!

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Takeout: The Blind Onion Pizza & Pub, King’s Row, Reno, NV

The Blind Onion Pizza & Pub, King's Row, Reno, NV
The Blind Onion Pizza & Pub, King's Row, Reno, NV on a brisk spring evening...

This evening, and similar to many other evenings alike,  saw this young man asking himself the impending question … what’s for dinner?

The question was met with a brief memory of wanting to get takeout at least once this week, just for the fun of it.  What is the perfect to-go fast-but-not-deadly food item on a Wednesday night?  Funny thing, we were thinking it too … pizza!

Not just any pizza would make the grade either.  Being still somewhat new to the town, a search for “pizza” on Google Maps was the path of least resistance to finding something online avatar-approved and close to home.

Within moments we were reminded of the first pizza joint we visited upon settling down on this side of the Sierras … The Blind Onion Pizza & Pub.

The Blind Onion Pizza & Pub, King's Row, Reno, NV
Pizza box art, courtesy of The Blind Onion Pizza & Pub, King's Row, Reno, NV...

By the time we made our way back to the homestead, hot pie and D7000 in-hand, the hunger from within was on the rise, along with the smell of herbs & spices falling pray to stringy mozzarella and piping hot marinara.

We had to sneak a piece after no more than five or six snapshots, as the aroma alone had knocked us senseless, and rendered our shutter finger lame.

The Blind Onion Pizza & Pub, King's Row, Reno, NV
A delicious, fluffy crusted Margherita pizza w/grilled chicken breast, to go, courtesy of The Blind Onion...

Paired with a bit of Rosenblum and this evening’s dinner sent the ol’ taste buds into orbit!  The best part of the experience as a whole however was discovering the included dipping sauces for the braided crust … an airy, buttery crust which stood a good 3/4″ – 1″ higher than the rest of the entire pie.

There was the traditional ranch-style dressing, which literally took us back to days of having Toppers sticks delivered to our 2nd story flat in Madison, WI somewhere between 3:30 and 4AM during pretty much any weekend between August 2001 and July 2002.

It is that explosive, puckering buttermilk-like sensation that makes the taste buds scream with satisfaction.  This, our friends is the renaissance of ranch.

In retrospect it wasn’t the ranch that sealed the deal however … the real mummifier turned out to be that which was buried with the Pharaohs and could still be deemed edible when discovered by modern man.  That’s right, you guessed it … honey!  We should’ve asked if it was local.  Well, perhaps next time…

The Blind Onion Pizza & Pub, King's Row, Reno, NV
What do they recommend dipping your fluffy crust in? Honey!

To make a long story short, we ate way more than we should have and felt so guilty about it that we had to share it here with our readers … in hopes that they too would embark on a journey, at least once in their lifetime, down to The Blind Onion for a slice of pie that is sure to invigorate taste buds and could quite possibly blow minds, all in the same sitting.

Camera(s) Used:

Nikon D7000

Lens(es) Used:

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D



Go On, Treat Yourself to Something Nice!

Do you buy stuff online? Do you buy camera stuff online? If this post or anything else on ishootreno.com was helpful to you, please consider supporting this site and making your next photo gear purchase through one of our affiliate links:

Every time our readers buy new gear through our affiliate links, it helps us bring to the table more of that which brought you here in the first place — the ‘money’ shots!

The best part?!  It doesn’t cost our readers anything extra to show their support!

If our readers do pick up some new gear, please drop us a line … we always love to hear about your new additions!

Comments, Praise, Feedback?  We’re all ears!

Please let us know what you thought of this post on ishootreno.com!