Library Gallery Blooms with Photos and Postcards

After a long extended vacation, the magic month of May has arrived in all of its glory to perfume the stale air of winter and color the still brown earth and woods with delicately colored blooms and bushes. It's a perfect time to let the sparkle of spring fill in the crevices of winter still left behind. After a prolonged vacation, the long-awaited magic of Wabash College Professor Dr. Z's mesmerizing photographic travel odysseys have arrived in all their glory to grace the still warm walls of the Library's own Mary Bishop Memorial Art Gallery all during the merry month of May. It's a perfect time to let the spring of new beginnings blossom and fill in the crevices of your art-starved soul right here at the Library. John Zimmerman grew up on a 120-acre family farm in northeastern Iowa. After nine years of one-room country school education, he entered Monticello Public High School where he took a chemistry course the first year it was offered. His excitement with the subject led him to a B.S. in Chemistry from the State University of Iowa, followed by a Ph.D. at the University of Kansas. His four decade Wabash College chemistry teaching career began that same year in 1963. Although now retired, he continues to work daily in the Wabash College Hays Science Center. Photography became part of John's life when he was given an Argus C3 35mm slide film camera in 1959. That began decades of documenting family life and trips throughout the United States and Canada. The original Argus C3 has evolved through six different cameras to the current Nikon D100 digital single lens reflex model. Entry into the digital camera world, including access to post-shot tools like Photoshop and digital printing, has revolutionized the number and quality of images one can take. In the early 90s John began to document Wabash College activities, especially athletics, music and theater. This led to documenting student travel in Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Wales, St. Petersburg, Russia and two summers on an archaeological dig in Crete. This exhibit features a blend of prints taken over the past two years with some "old favorites." The majority of the images are "instinctive shots taken mostly on the run." As such they tend to be more documentary than artistic. Come Travel with Me was one of John's favorite performance numbers in the 2006 Wabash College Glee Club Wales, Scotland, and England tour repertoire. The Come Travel with Me blend of lyric and piano accompaniment always energized John to look forward to the next day's adventures. It is in that spirit that John is pleased to share images from some of his more recent travels and has named his exhibit COME TRAVEL WITH ME: A Photographic Engagement with Dr. Z.

As an addendum to the Gallery exhibit Harley Sheets will share a small part of his enormous 15,000 to 20,000 Postcard Collection with the community in the Display Cases of the Gallery during both the months of May and June. Mr. Sheets is the vice-president of the Indianapolis Postcard Club, was born in Lebanon, Indiana, and has lived in Danville, Indiana for the past 20 years. He is a devout collector of Indiana High School and Boone County postcards. On Saturday, June 21 at 2:00 pm in Rooms A & B in the Library's Lower Level, Mr. Sheets will present a 20 to 30 minute synopsis on postcard collecting and give information on what makes postcards both valuable and collectible. Following the presentation, he will offer free postcard appraisals for those who may have collections and accumulations of their own. Mr. Sheets offers libraries and other organizations these programs as a way of giving back to a hobby which he enjoys immensely. He has named his exhibit COME LOOK & LISTEN TO ME: A Postcard Engagement with Harley Sheets. Do come visit these Library Gallery exhibits and enjoy another spring adventure.

Diane Hammill, Coordinator, Mary Bishop Memorial Art Gallery, Crawfordsville Public Library,
2008