The MAC Center for the Arts in Newport, VT, will host an opening for “Portrait of a Forest: Men and Machine,” on November 18 from 5 to 7 p.m., 158 Main Street, Newport. The opening is in conjunction with the annual Holiday Reception at the MAC.
The exhibit, on loan to MAC from the Vermont Folklife Center, combines contemporary photographs by Weybridge photojournalist, George Bellerose, with historical photographs and commentary by the logging and forest products community, will run through December 31.
“Unlike Vermonters of the past, many of us no longer have a direct connection to the working landscape. We see logging trucks and the occasional roadside log collection, but rarely do we have contact with loggers or fully understand their importance to the state,” Bellerose said of the origin of his project.
“My hope is that this documentation will help everyone better understand the challenges facing the industry today and appreciate its role in preserving a healthy forest,” Bellerose added. “This project is an essential part of the Vermont Folklife Center’s mission to help people become visible to one another,” Greg Sharrow, co-director of the Center commented. “George Bellerose’s photography opens a powerful window into the lives and work of loggers in Vermont.”
Coverage ranges from solo loggers with a chain saw to multi-machine chipping operations, from backyard sawmills to state-of-the-art flooring mills.
The exhibit and projected book are companion pieces to an earlier Bellerose and Vermont Folklife Center project, Forty-Six Years of Pretty Straight Going: The Life of a Family Dairy Farm.
“Both occupations involve long days and hard work. Both are often a generational way of life and a tough way to make a living. Both have shaped the landscape and culture of Vermont. Both face economic challenges today, and both often feel that the work they do is not understood or appreciated,” Bellerose commented.
This exhibit and reception is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802 334 -1966.
MAC Center for the Arts, a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization, supports Vermont's Creative Economy through the sale of our member's work at our 4,000 square foot Main Street gallery. In addition to our gallery store and seasonal opening receptions, we offer a full calendar of special events, performances, visiting and original exhibits, classes and workshops. All are open to the public and most are free to attend.