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TRUTH? Not Everything Is White and Black is an art installation by Todd Wolfe at the Tioga Arts Council Building in Owego, NY at 179 Front Street in Owego, NY from March 3 to march 28, 2023. The show was funded in part through a 2023 Individual Artist Grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.

TRUTH? Not Everything Is White and Black was created to challenge us all to be aware of the false narratives that we create about ourselves, others, and the world around us. The show presents thirteen sets of canvases with statements on them. None of these statements are actually true. Some of the statements are obviously false. Statements like a white canvas that states “this is black” and a black canvas that states, “this is white”. But there are other canvases that have statements that are easy for us to think are truths, but in reality are no more true than the obviously false statements. An example is “You are right” and ‘they are wrong.” These statements present what I call “false narratives”, stories that we create about ourselves, other people and the world around us that end up damaging those relationships. In the middle of the room is a large two way mirror with the word introspection on the reflective side, and the word judgment on the see through side. It is my hope that as we view this show that we can move from lives of judgment towards other people to lives of introspection that brings a deeper understanding about who we are and how we relate to the world around us.

One of the goals of the show was to go beyond just thinking about the false narratives we create that separate us from each other and encourage us to consider how we can rethink these differences, so that they might become something that can bring us together. In the back gallery we created an interactive space where visitors can respond to the show. In our lives we often respond most harshly to thoughts and customs that are most different and opposite of who we are. Colors on the color wheel have their opposites as well, but within art, those opposite colors are called complementary colors. Complementary colors combine in such a way as to enhance or emphasize the qualities of each other. This interactive space gives visitors a chance to become participants in the show by adding a flag to the Wall of Change with an example of how we can rethink our differences.

Also in the rear gallery is a poem inspired by the show titled Ellipsis and kinetic sculptural representation of the poem that Owego Poet Diane Wiener and I created together. The poem reads:

Ellipsis

Perspective stretches
A canvas of
Sculpted words
No one loses

Open the center
Inside the story
Equity sews
…

A few THANK YOUs that need to be handed out:

Thank You to the New York State Council on the Arts for supporting art and artists across New York State. Being a 2023 Individual Artist grantee is a special honor and has allowed this exhibit to become a reality. Thanks also to the Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes for their grant sponsorship.

Thank You to the Tioga Arts Council for hosting the show, and especially to Christina Di Stefano for always encouraging me to go further including applying for the New York State grant.

Thank You to my sister Heidi Wolfe for working together with me to choose and mix the final colors for the canvases.

Thank You to Erin Caruth and Heidi Wolfe for working with me to conceive an interactive experience for attendees.

Thank You to Sylvia Riegel for helping with the installation of the show.

Thank You to Diane Weiner for saying yes when I asked you to write a poem for the show and then going the extra mile with by being willing to collaborate on the poem and the corresponding art work.


0:00 TRUTH? Not Everything Is White and Black - Overview
1:24 Walk-through of the main show
6:23 Rethinking Our Differences: Interactive experience in rear gallery
9:53 Ellipsis, an kinetic sculptural poem by Diane Wiener and Todd Wolfe
11:17 Much needed THANKS goes to…