“Ruins and Life” Photo and Poetry Exhibit at Stocker Arts Center

Lorain County Community College and the Stocker Arts Center present “Ruins and Life,” a special photography and poetry exhibition featuring the photography of award winning photographer Keith Berr and poetry by Bruce Weigl, a distinguished professor in the Arts and Humanities division at LCCC, Thursday, September 10 through Friday, October 9 in the Beth K. Stocker Art Gallery.

The exhibition will open with a reception from 4-8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10 that will feature gallery tours and talks by Berr and Weigl at 4 and 6 p.m. as well as a poetry reading by Weigl at 7 p.m.

"Ruins and Life" features a series of poems by Weigl and photographs by Berr that reflect their personal stories and experiences as well as history and life in Southeast Asia, from the temples and streets of Cambodia to the waters of Halong Bay, Vietnam.  The photographs included in this exhibition are part of a personal series of images Berr captured in Southeast Asia while he and his partner, Linda Barberic, were exploring the Temples of Angkor in Cambodia.   Inspired by the iconic nature of the sculptures within the temple and the spirit of the people he encountered, Berr has captured the essence of a people and a culture that has endured for centuries while reflecting the struggles, the rewards and the story of the impermanence of human existence. 

These incredible images are paired with the poetry of Bruce Weigl, whose unflinchingly honest poems, about Vietnam and about America, have brought him critical praise, a wide readership, and international eminence. Born and raised in Lorain, Ohio, Weigl spent four years in the service, serving in Vietnam from December 1967 to December 1968, where he received the Bronze Star. Weigl survived to become one of America's most admired poets, eloquently speaking for an entire generation of Americans whose lives were broken by the war and whose moral confusion desperately needed addressing. As he describes, his relationship to Vietnam has deepened through subsequent visits and experiences:  “Charlie Simic told me a long time ago that the world had given me a subject, and that I could not be a writer and turn my back on that subject. I listened to him. And, although I’ve continued to write about Vietnam, I no longer write about the war per se, but about the country, which I’ve come to love very much as a result of many visits there as a translator and visiting writer.”

The images in this exhibition are available in a limited edition series of museum quality fine art prints, as well as in a limited edition book created for this exhibit.  For further information on pricing and available sizes and editions please contact Linda at linda@keithberr.com or visit keithberrphotography.com, or call (216) 566-7950.

Stocker Art Gallery hours are 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Additional hours by appointment for groups or classes can be arranged by Joan Perch at the Stocker Arts Center at (440) 366 4140, or 1-800-995-5222, (ext. 4140) or jperch@lorainccc.edu.

The Stocker Art Center Beth K. Stocker Art Gallery is located on the second floor of the LCCC Stocker Arts Center, 1005 N Abbe Road, Elyria, Ohio.

 -30-

September 4, 2009