36th Annual Photography Exhibit takes entries Sept. 14-15

By Hope Wallace

It’s upon us! Check in for the 36^th Annual Photography Exhibit is this Saturday and Sunday, Sept.  14-15. On those days, from 1-5 p.m., we will be here to help you register your photographs for this time-honored, exciting competition. Extra prospectuses will be available but it can take some time to fill them out. If you would like to take care of that ahead of time, you can stop by the art center, download from our website and print them out on your own or we can also email you a copy — just give us a call or email.

Thank you to the George and Altha Brooks family for sponsoring another mobile display unit! We only have five more to go. These custom designed units help keep our future exhibit space at the armory flexible for varying needs of the community. In addition, they double as chair storage. We would like to complete a total of ten units for the initial start-up phase of the exhibit gallery. They will also help define the area dedicated to upcoming David Humphreys Miller collection. If you are interested in sponsoring one of these units let us know at the contact information below. Your or your family’s name or company name will be featured on a plaque located directly and permanently on the display.

Today’s photo is one I took last week, having been fortunate enough to be traveling along Interstate 70 through southern Utah. Leafing through a brochure I recognized the iconic images of the oldest petroglyphs in the United States. We would be driving right by them! We soon found ourselves winding along the hot and dry Sego Canyon just beyond a town called Thompson Springs. Thompson Springs has a gas station and that is about it. There are only a few directional signs and fewer people. Sego Canyon is also home to a ghost of the same name.

I was in my element. The dusty dirt roads wound around in a disorderly fashion leading to abandoned mines and the ruins of an old stone boarding house. Finally we reached a turn-off and found the very petroglyphs you see on television shows from the History Channel which claim that ages ago we were visited by aliens. It’s not a difficult assumption, peering into empty eyes on odd shaped heads complete with antennae. What is known, however, is that three distinct time periods and tribes are represented here. The oldest are the Barrier Canyon petroglyphs, which date 6000 B.C.- 100 B.C. They are shamanistic in nature, are larger than life and feature legless torsos, empty eyes, antennae, and are often holding a snake is each hand.

The second group of images were created by the Anasazi and Fremont Indians from around 600 A.D. -1250 A.D. Bodies are shaped like decorated upside-down triangles and there are chipped carvings of running bighorn sheep, indicated by drawing multiple sets of legs on one animal.

The third and youngest set of drawings date from 1300 A.D. -1880 A.D. and were carved and painted by the Ute Indians. The human representation is more typical and there are shield-like symbols along with drawings of horses, a relatively modern introduction of the sixteenth century. The Ute Indians were hunter-gatherers and lived throughout Colorado and Eastern Utah until 1880 when they were forced onto reservations. However, they and their ancient forebears left their mark with art. It communicates an identity and often is the only thing left to tell of an existence of a people. It was an honor to have been able to peek, however briefly, into these people’s lives.

Back to the current day: the preparations at the armory are ramping up. The contractors are wearing their superhero uniforms and completing work of the same caliber and speed. We are often back and forth between locations several times a day and may not always be present at our original location. If we miss you feel free to call and leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible. We thank you for your patience!

We still have openings in the class offerings listed below. Some classes occur during evening hours for those who find work schedules interfere with daytime creative pursuits.

Action Acrylics (ages 18-130) October 1, 8, 15, 22 6:30-8:30 p.m. Instructor: Pat Rayman $30 members, $35 non-members.

Even More Classic Watercolors (adult) October 1, 8, 15, 22, 10 a.m.-noon. Instructor: Pat Rayman. $35 members, $40 non-members.

If you have any questions regarding exhibits, classes or programs or would like to get involved please call the Wassenberg Art Center at 419.238.6837, email info@wassenbergartcenter.org or you may register online at wassenbergartcenter.org. Hours during exhibits are Tuesday through Sunday 1–5 p.m. The Wassenberg Art Center is currently located at 643 S. Washington St. in Van Wert.