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Stuart’s Opera House, Nelsonville, Ohio Presents a photographic exhibition of Vern McClish “Appalachian Families and Faces, 1971-1975
May 29- July 17, 2009
Opening Reception for the public: Friday, May 29, 6-9PM
Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville, Ohio is pleased to present Vern McClish’s documentary photographs of the people in the communities surrounding Nelsonville, Ohio. The exhibition, entitled “Appalachian Families and Faces, 1971-1975” continues from Friday, May 29 to July 17, 2009. There will be a reception open to the public Friday, May 29, 6-9PM.
From 1971-1975, Vern McClish documented the people of the coal-mining region of Southern Ohio, particularly in and around the communities surrounding Nelsonville, Ohio. Intrigued by the fascinating people and area, McClish photographed there for four years, recording the daily lives of people living in this critically important historical part of America. Now he has returned after over 30 years to share what he saw then with a wish to reconnect and again record what he sees today. “After not being in the area after over thirty years, I decided to return and see if I could retrace my steps. As I drove from my home in Massachusetts, I wondered if I would be able to find familiar sites or if gentrification had changed the area so much that I would never recognize it. Boy, was I wrong, for time had not changed very much, though I did find that Hogan’s Bar, a favorite watering hole in Murray City, is now gone.”
Stuart’s Opera House is honored to present McClish’s photographs of families and faces of the people who were here in the early seventies. The photographer’s goal is not only to share this imagery with the folks in the pictures, but also to reconnect and photograph them as they are today. McClish hopes to relive and rejoice in those past memories with these individuals, as well as record new moments and memories. A book is in the works of images and spoken memories of the past and relating images of the present of these families and faces.
The Opera House and the photographer look forward to bringing folks from the surrounding towns here to recognize a loved one or friend, or see themselves thirty years ago, sharing their insights, to become a part of a document of this historical area.
Vern McClish is a graduate of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio where this project began. He currently lives in Turners Falls MA. and works as the director of Marketing for Hallmark Institute, a private trade school for professional photographers.
For further information please contact the photographer by email at vern@mcclish.com
Or Stuarts Opera House, stuartsoperahouse.org.
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