ETSU is sponsoring the exhibits of two photographers this November worthy of the attention of any eager photo enthusiast. The photographers, Abelardo Morell and Ed Westcott, probably could not be more different in style and subject. However, both promise to captivate through their mastery of photography.
Abelardo Morell is coming to ETSU on Friday, Nov. 3. He will lecture and present slides on his work. The Student Photography Association sponsors his visit.
Morell is best known for his camera obscura images.
“He is one of the first photographers to make photographs of the specific nature in which photography operates. He has single-handedly focused on the abilities of the camera that none of the other arts have,” said Kevin Thrasher, president of the Student Photography Association.
Thrasher has been a fan of Morell’s for over two years.
“He’s very keen on observing common objects and interpreting them and transforming them into something else completely.”
Morell was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. Recently he was awarded the 2006 Rappaport Prize, a prestigious award for contemporary artists with a $25,000 bonus.
Morell has been described by the DeCordova Museum as, “one of the most influential photographers working today,” and as “an innovator in the medium.”
His lecture will take place at 7 p.m. in Ball Hall auditorium. This will be an opportunity for photographers and non-photographers alike to hear a renowned contemporary artist reflect on his work.
Ed Westcott will not be visiting ETSU, but his photographs are already here. They are located in the B. Carroll Reece Museum, and will be staying until Dec. 14.
The exhibit, “Through the Lens of Ed Westcott,” focuses on his work in Oak Ridge, Tenn. There has always been mystery surrounding Oak Ridge, and Westcott captures some of that mystery as well as the daily life of the Manhattan Project from 1942-1959. His photographs document every aspect of daily life for those living and working in Oak Ridge.
Theresa Burchett-Anderson, the director of the B. Carroll Reece Museum, loves the photograph of Miss Oak Ridge. The beauty queen, photographed in 1947, is shown smiling and holding her prize: a ham.
In another photograph, women in work uniforms are shown sitting on stools in front of panels. Previously, at the exhibit’s opening at the University of Tennessee, a woman came up to the curator, pointed at the photograph and said, “This is me.”
The curator asked her, “What were you doing?”
She replied, “I didn’t know what I was doing. None of us knew what we were doing.”
This photograph, titled “The control room panels and operators at Y-12,” can be viewed with numerous others at the Reece Museum, which is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
“He was an artist, but he also documented life at Oak Ridge,” Burchett Anderson said Through this exhibit we get a glimpse into the mysterious Oak Ridge that people have always questioned. This exhibit shows that the people at Oak Ridge had lives just like everyone else did in the same time period.”
“These are photographs that have been sealed by the Department of Energy for years, so many of these are being seen for the first time,” she said. Just the fact that you get to see pictures that no one else has ever seen is very impressive.”
“He did an incredible job, being the only photographer for 75,000 people,” said JC Reynolds, a sophomore who works in the Reece Museum. “He documented the biggest piece of history from the 20th century, and the most influential thing that happened. The exhibit goes along with what’s happening in the world today, with North Korea and Iran.”
The exhibit’s reception will take place at the Reece Museum on Nov. 16 from 5-7 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
For more information on Abelardo Morell, visit his Web site at www.abelardomorell.net. An online exhibit of Ed Westcott’s photography can be viewed at http://sunsite.utk.edu/westcott/

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