Artist opens photography show

Sometimes the beauty of those things near us are harder to see.

Ohio University graduate student Craig Fetherolf brings the beauty of Appalachia to Athens in his art show titled "You can't get there from here." The show premiered last night at Seigfried Hall.

"The title is a popular saying in our culture," Fetherolf said. "It has to do with my thesis and my political views about Appalachia."

His photos are shot to look like they are scenes from Appalachia but were done in a studio. The pictures are not meant to represent life here, but rather how society thinks life here is like.

Fetherolf's photographs do not have titles to them, but each image is descriptive.

In one photograph, a stereotypical Appalachian resident is posing for the camera. Her dress and demeanor represent what most people think of teenage girls in Appalachian society, but Fetherolf's message is to break these judgments.

"I think this (Appalachia)is an area of high poverty, and people often look down on people from there," student Alexa Piazza said. "This shows it's not OK to stereotype others."

An interesting aspect to his pieces are the bright backgrounds and colors that highlight the subjects in the photos. In another work, a young girl dressed in tattered jeans stares off in the distance of the photograph. An older woman sitting behind the girl is looking forward, too. A bright green wooden edifice stands behind both, contrasting the simplicity of the woman and child.

"I know all these people," Fetherolf said about the people photographed in his works. "Most are family or lifetime friends. All are from Appalachia."

Fetherolf took about 1 1/2 years to complete the pieces he uses for the show. He is graduating from OU at the end of this quarter and this show is his Master in Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition, a requirement for him to graduate.

"I think the show is very well put together, well executed," senior Sarah McDowell said. "He flushed out his ideas well."

The gallery is reserved a few times each quarter to show student's work, said Jenita Landrum-Bittles, who oversees art shows at the gallery and helps the shows run smoothly.

••"You Can't Get There From Here," runs from Oct. 24 to 28. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. ••