Arts Fest Events at Library Will Explore the History of Photography
The Ohio
County Public Library in Wheeling will serve, along with West Virginia Northern
Community College and West Virginia Independence Hall, as one of the venues for
the annual Wheeling Arts Fest on Saturday, June 21.
As
announced by the History and Literature Committee of the City of Wheeling Arts
and Cultural Commission, the theme for the library events will be the “Art and
History of Photography.”
The first program will begin at 11 AM in the library’s auditorium, and will feature West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman, who will conduct a special reading plus workshop concerned with ekphrastic poetry, that is, poetry that is inspired by or offers comments upon another art form, such as photography. He believes ekphrastic poetry provide an exciting prompt for a writer and suspects that people know more of such work than they may realize citing the pop song “Starry Night” by Don McLean, as one example, and Bob Dylan’s many allusions to Shakespeare, as another. Harshman will conduct a reading of some of the seminal verse arising from this peculiar yet often popular perspective. Following the reading he will lead participants in a writing exercise designed to draw them into a full engagement with a work of art that will fuel their own literary art, their own work of words.
Harshman was appointed poet laureate by Governor Earl Ray
Tomblin in 2012. His eleven
children’s books include THE STORM, a Smithsonian Notable Book, and he has three
new children’s books forthcoming. His
full-length poetry collection, GREEN-SILVER AND SILENT, was recently published
and his fourth chapbook, ALL THAT FEEDS US: THE WEST VIRGINIA POEMS came out
from Quarrier Press just last year. Last year, Marc was commissioned by the
Wheeling National Heritage Area to write a poem in honor of West Virginia’s
Sesquicentennial. On June 20th his poem “A Song for West Virginia” was
presented in both Charleston and Wheeling as a part of the day-long
festivities. A new,
full-color edition of this poem will be available at the Wheeling Arts Fest.
At noon, Miriam Meislik, Media
Curator, Archives Service Center, University Library System at the
University of Pittsburgh, will present a history of photography as an art form and
discuss the importance of photographs as primary source documents for
historians. The presentation will include a hands-on exhibit. Meislik is an
experienced speaker and educator and has published a book called Historic
Photos of Pittsburgh.
At 1:30 PM, attendees will be
able to learn the art, science and history of tintype photographywith expert Jason Snyder, owner of Pittsburgh Tintype Studio. Snyder uses a
19th century process to create unique photographs on aluminum using the same
technique that was popular during the Civil War era. Following
Snyder's presentation, for a fee, guests will be able to have their own
authentic tintype portrait taken and developed. “This is an excellent
opportunity for living historians and Civil War reenactors to have an authentic
tintype portrait made in costume,” Snyder said. The photographs
will be 4x5 in size, and Snyder will offer a discount from his usual studio
rate to $45 per plate. He will only have time to complete a limited number
of tintypes, so make your reservation today by sending an email to
lunchwithbooks@yahoo.com or calling 304-232-0244. Stages
Inc. of Wheeling will be on hand with one-size-fits-all costumes for people who
want to have a tintype done and don't have a costume with them. There will
be no charge for costume use.
In addition to the library
programs, the History and Literature Committee will offer a “Spoken Word” table
at the main festival venue at the WVNCC plaza. Books from local authors will be
available.
No comments:
Post a Comment