'Prairie Town' exhibit to Interpretive Center
Posted: Friday, April 18, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- Photographer Jeff Haller spent two months immersed in the life of Red Cloud, Neb., his boyhood home and home of writer Willa Cather.
The result is a photo exhibition titled "Somewhere in the Middle of America: Life in a Prairie Town," opening Sunday at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center Gallery on the Missouri Riverfront.
"I see my work as an intersection of Willa Cather's literature and everyday experiences of real people," says Haller, a University Nebraska-Lincoln graduate. "In some ways, nothing has changed since Willa Cather's day."
Red Cloud is a town of about 1,000 people, some 18 miles from the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states. Cather brought its pioneer existence to life in such works as "My Antonia" and "O Pioneers!"
In the summer of 2006, Haller returned to Red Cloud and took photos as part of his master's project at Ohio University School of Visual Communications, Athens, Ohio. He explored how people interacted with one another, with their history and environment.
"At the same time, I explored my own history. I grew up in Red Cloud. It was home to generations of my family. For many years, it was my world," Haller says.
As an adult, the photographer came home to emerging stories: an aging population; the diminishing role of small family farmers and a decline in small business.
"Still, life goes on in a small town somewhere in the middle of America."
Interpretive Center hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday. Admission and parking are free
The result is a photo exhibition titled "Somewhere in the Middle of America: Life in a Prairie Town," opening Sunday at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center Gallery on the Missouri Riverfront.
"I see my work as an intersection of Willa Cather's literature and everyday experiences of real people," says Haller, a University Nebraska-Lincoln graduate. "In some ways, nothing has changed since Willa Cather's day."
Red Cloud is a town of about 1,000 people, some 18 miles from the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states. Cather brought its pioneer existence to life in such works as "My Antonia" and "O Pioneers!"
In the summer of 2006, Haller returned to Red Cloud and took photos as part of his master's project at Ohio University School of Visual Communications, Athens, Ohio. He explored how people interacted with one another, with their history and environment.
"At the same time, I explored my own history. I grew up in Red Cloud. It was home to generations of my family. For many years, it was my world," Haller says.
As an adult, the photographer came home to emerging stories: an aging population; the diminishing role of small family farmers and a decline in small business.
"Still, life goes on in a small town somewhere in the middle of America."
Interpretive Center hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday. Admission and parking are free
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