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Contact:
Dan Carpenter
(325) 673-4587
Marketing@thegracemuseum.org
Grace
opens Library of Congress exhibit Thursday
Abilene, TX
(October 3, 2007) - The Grace Museum will open a
special Library of Congress exhibit Thursday in its Main Gallery.
Bound
for Glory: America in Color, 1939-1943 is the first
major exhibition of the little-known color images taken by
photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of
War Information. This exhibition was organized by the Library
of Congress with support from the Durham Western Heritage
Museum.
Comprised
of 70 digital prints made from color transparencies, Bound
for Glory provides an unusual record of a period in
American history previously seen only in black and white.
These vivid full-color photographs capture the effects of
the Depression on America's rural and small-town populations,
the nation's tireless efforts to overcome economic challenges,
and its patriotic response to mobilization for World War II.
These
photographs, many by famed photographers such as John Vachon,
Jack Delano, Russell Lee, and Marion Post Wolcott, mark a
historic divide in visual presentation between the monochrome
world of the pre-modern age and the brilliant hues of the
present, documenting the historic transition from black-and-white
photography to the Kodachrome era. They change the way we
look at - and think about - our past.
The
original goal of the FSA project was to record the ravages
of the Depression on America's rural population and spur Congress
and the American public to support government relief efforts.
With an improved economy, increased industrialization, and
the onset of World War II the photographs increasingly recorded
a broader national record.
In
addition to their documentary and historic value, the color
images of the FSA/OWI Collection of the Library of Congress
provide a remarkable opportunity to study the early use of
color film as it was employed by a dedicated group of professional
photographers who typically took black-and-white images. Several
photographs in the exhibit allow a direct comparison of black-and-white
and color images of the same subject, offering a revealing
glimpse into the technique and learning process of master
photographers ex perimenting with a new medium.
In
conjunction with these exhibitions the Grace's Art Talk &
Coffee lecture series will feature a trio of engaging speakers.
On
October 18, Paul Hendrickson, author of the companion book
to Bound for Glory and a professor at the University
of Pennsylvania, will provide an overview of the exhibition
and place these photographs in the larger context of Depression-era
documentary photography.
November
1, Robert Abzug, professor at the University of Texas, Austin,
will focus on the development of the Kodachrome process in
1936, and the ways color film changed photography and the
public's appetite for color imagery forever.
November
15, David Dike, owner of David Dike Fine Art in Dallas and
a leading authority on Texas art, will shed light on the impact
of the Depression on the artists and art of Texas and the
development of American Regionalism.
Each of the lectures
begins at 6:30 p.m.
The Grace Museum
is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; and
from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday. Admission is free Thursday
evening after 5 p.m.
For more information,
call 325-673-4587.
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