Photography Exhibit, Lecture Focus on Coal
During October, Fairmont State will host a photography exhibit by Kenneth Hassell,
Associate Professor of Art and Chair of the Art Department at Elon College in North
Carolina. The exhibition of his work focuses on the coal fields of Appalachia. The
opening reception will be from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4, in the Brooks Gallery
of Wallman Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.
"Hassell's elegant and eloquent images of the coal miners, their families and their
environment will resonate with West Virginia viewers especially, although the beauty
of the work is universal," said Marian J. Hollinger, Fine Arts Advocate for Fairmont
State.
Regular gallery hours are Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For special
viewing arrangements, call or e-mail Hollinger at (304) 367-4300 or mhollinger@fairmontstate.edu.
During his visit to Fairmont State, Hassell will also present a lecture on "A Life
of Coal." The documentary photography presentation will take place on Thursday, Oct.
5, at 12:30 p.m. in Multi-media Room A of the Ruth Ann Musick Library.
The lecture is being funded by a National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate
Education curriculum development grant, Coal in the Heart of Appalachia: An Interdisciplinary
Exploration of the Science and Culture of Coal #0310653 and the West Virginia Folklife
Center at Fairmont State.
"A Life of Coal" is a long-term project that researches and explores the many facets
of Appalachian coal mining culture as expressed in the coal camp of Dante, Va. Hassell
is using traditional research of contemporary and historical documents and text, film
and photographic archives, recorded oral histories, documentary photography and residence
in Dante in conducting the project. The result will be a narrated presentation using
digital media, an exhibition of photographs with recordings and text, publication
of a monograph with text, images, oral histories and a documentary film in collaboration
with writer Lee Smith.
Hassell teaches fine art photography and is chair of the Art Department at Elon University
in the Piedmont region of North Carolina where he has an Associate Professor. He has
given presentations on "A Life of Coal" at Elon and at conferences sponsored by the
Society for Photographic Education and the Appalachian Studies Association. He founded
the digital art program at Elon, and his scholarship has included a two-decade long
photography project, "The Working Spirit," which celebrates the dignity and complexity
of the common worker. He has been the recipient of fellowships from the Wisconsin
Arts Board, the North Carolina Arts Council, the Southern Arts Federation and Elon.
He received his M.F.A. degree in photography from the University of Wisconsin and
subsequently taught at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Drexel University
and Delaware County Community College.