Three diverse exhibits that should be of interest to the university community are on display through Sept. 23 at the Reece Museum.
“Coal: Old images, New Perspectives” features black and white photographs from the Jeanne M. Rasmussen Collection which is on loan from ETSU’s Archives of Appalachia.
The photographs Rasmussen took provide an in-depth look at the coal industry she encountered when she moved to Beckley, W.Va., in the 1960s.
Included in the exhibit are portraits of children and adults, photographs depicting the harsh living conditions and poverty of those in the mining communities, and a series of pictures of Buffalo Creek, W.Va., which was devastated after an improperly constructed dam broke and flooded the town in 1972 and killed many of its inhabitants.
“I felt that people needed to see some of the recent history of coal to have an understanding of what people have endured,” said Blair White, director and curator of the Reece Museum, who said the impetus for the exhibit was the country’s recent energy problems. White said one interesting fact Ras-mussen’s photographs show is there is a great spirit among children. Many of the children are smiling and seemingly oblivious to the harshness of their lives.
The annual “Alumni Exhibit” features the oil pastel and mixed media drawings of Randy Sanders and the mixed media construction of Bev Yokley. In addition to being ETSU graduates, the two artists are husband and wife. Many of Sanders’ works, which contain elements of humor and fantasy, use animal imagery to make statements about life and the human relationship to it.
“Neither Fish nor Fowl” features a creature that is both fish and bird, and humorously illustrates the theme of being unable to fit in.
Yokley’s constructions illustrate the common experiences that humans share. For “Dead Pet,” which is an eloquent reminder of the experience of burying a pet in a shoebox in the backyard, Yokley has made a shoebox out of metal and inside has placed a blanket, collar and by suggestion, the dead animal.
“Mountain Dew: `Dew It’ in Johnson City,” the last of the September exhibits, is the first of the shows White has curated that “has generated an Associated Press story.”
Exhibition brochures say the first franchise for Mountain Dew was held by Tri-City Beverage in Johnson City which first bottled and sold the drink in 1955. Mountain Dew originated in Knoxville in the 1930s as a mixer for Kentucky bourbon.
The exhibition includes a wide variety of Mountain Dew memorabilia including old signs, bottles, watches, hats, toy trucks and other items used to advertise the drink throughout the years. White said calls have been coming in from all over the country from people with their own Mountain Dew products, and he has always felt it was important to do a show that focused on “popular culture.”
“I always find it interesting when you take something that is a part of everyday culture and set it up for examination,” he said.
Gallery hours are Monday-Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Thursday from 9 a.m.-7 p.m, and Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

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