Westport
in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Monday,
March 16, 2015
photos/EverythingWestport.com except as noted
Quick
Article Index . . .
Civil War 3D
Photographs and Poetry" at Sandywoods Center for the Arts.
Southcoast VNA to offer bereavement workshop for children.
WRWA announces staff position, Community Engagement Manager.
|
Civil
War 3D Photographs and Poetry" at Sandywoods Center for the Arts. EverythingWestport.com Monday,
March 16, 2015 Visitors to yesterday’s presentation of "Civil War 3D Photographs
and Poetry" at Sandywoods Center for the Arts presented by John Wojtowicz and Laurie Robertson-Lorant
were treated to an unusual viewing of Civil War photographs… in 3D! There were over 10,000 documentary photographs taken during the Civil War;
more than 70% of those photographs were stereographs, Civil War photographer, Mathew Brady pioneered the use during the Civil
War of stereograms (3D pictures) taken with a special stereoscopic camera,
which had two lenses. Insert: John Wojtowicz,
adjunct professor at Massasoit Community College and a member of the
Photographic Historical Society of New England operated the stereoscopic projector
and recited poems keyed to individual stereograms. One of the most celebrated war photographers and often referred to as
the father of photojournalism, Mathew Brady will be
always remembered in the journalism arena for documenting the American Civil
War on a grand scale. In 1862, he was admired for presenting some heart-wrenching photographs
of the “Battle of Antietam” in an exhibition. However, it is a matter of fact
that this legendary photographer went bankrupt during his last days and died
penniless in the charity ward of a hospital in New York. Hi photographs ended up in the hands of a debtor, with another set in
the hands of the American government that eventually paid Brady $25,000 for
the copyright. When the Civil
War began, Brady was determined to take its picture. He and his staff hauled
their bulky cameras and equipment from camp to camp and from battlefield to
battlefield. “Using inexpensive Anaglyph
3D glasses will allow you to view the stereoscopic images in this article and
those included in the photo album.”
Unbelievably, Civil
War photographers also carried their darkrooms with them! 10,000 Brady
photographic plates brought to the untouched cities of the North the
realities of war, the wounded in the hospital tents and the torn and bloated
bodies in the field. They constitute a major source for study today. During the presentation the haunting words of poets Melville, Whitman,
Harper, Gibbons and others disturbingly amplified the harrowing images of the
death and destruction in America’s “great rebellion.” Civil War photographers like Mathew
Brady, Alexander Gardner and Timothy O'Sullivan found enthusiastic
audiences for their images as America's interests were piqued by the
shockingly realistic medium. For the first time in history, citizens on the
home front could view the actual carnage of faraway battlefields. Civil War photographs stripped away much of the Victorian-era romance
around warfare.
Above right: Laurie Robertson-Lorant. She
and John read Civil War poetry that complemented the photographs, including
poems by Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper,
Charlotte L. Forten Grimké, Llyod Mifflin, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and James
Sloan Gibbons whose writings reveal diverse experiences of the war.
Above: stereoscopic images seen on the projector
screen that when viewed through Anaglyph 3D glasses appears three-dimensional.
Above: normal two-dimensional photos of the photos above them. The photo
on the left is of President Lincoln meeting on the battlefield with
General George B.
McClellan shortly before McClellan is removed as General-in-Chief.
The photo on the right is a picture of the mortar “Dictator,” the
largest ever built, able to launch a 200 pound ball over 2 miles! Above: the four
co-conspirators convicted of President Lincoln’s assassination are hanged. Photo/Smithsonian Historical
Archives
Above: Civil War trench warfare was
a forerunner to that so disastrously employed in World War I.
Above: stereoscopic
(left) and normal photographic images of General William Tecumseh Sherman on horseback
during his march to the sea. First
stanza of The March to the Sea by Herman Melville. Not Kenesaw
high-arching, References: http://sgarwood.com/
Early Photography Southcoast VNA to offer bereavement workshop for children. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, March 25, 2015 NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Southcoast®
Visiting Nurse Association, known in the community as Southcoast
VNA, is offering a free, five-week bereavement workshop for children between
the ages of 6 and 13 grieving the death of a loved one. Stories, crafts, and group activities will be used to encourage sharing
and meaning-making. Group discussions will also be held to help children
learn about grief, sharing memories, coping, and helping themselves and
others. The workshop will be held on five consecutive Mondays beginning March
23rd from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. at the New Bedford Public Library, Main Library
Meeting Room, 3rd Floor, 613 Pleasant Street in New
Bedford. Registration is required. Please contact Bereavement Manager, Lindsay
Coe, LCSW, at 508.973.3227 for more information and to register. WRWA announces
staff position, Community Engagement Manager. EverythingWestport.com Saturday, March 21,
2015 The Westport River
Watershed Alliance (WRWA) is happy to announce that Steve Connors will join their
staff as Community Engagement Manager.
Connors will assume his new position on Monday, April 1st. Said WRWA
president Tom Schmitt: “We’re delighted to bring Steve on board. He brings a
deep knowledge of the community, a commitment to preserving the environment
and a wonderful track record of working with volunteers and staff.”
WRWA staff photo, from left to right: Deborah Weaver, E.D.; Gay Gillespie, Development Director; Steve
Connors, Community Engagement Manager; Shelli Costa, Education Director;
Betsy White, Advocacy Director; and Roberta Carvalho,
Science Director. Missing from photo - Dachelle
London, Office Administrator. “This is a great
day for the entire WRWA family,” said WRWA executive director Deborah Weaver. “Steve is perfectly suited to help WRWA
reinvigorate community activities such as walks, lectures, rambling river
rides and music by the water. He will be working on volunteer recruitment and
training, grant research, and all community wide events. We are excited to offer many more free
public activities and Steve will be a friendly face at all of them! We
couldn’t be more pleased to bring him into our organization”. The Westport
River Watershed Alliance is a nonprofit environmental education and advocacy
group formed in 1976 to protect and improve the natural resources of the
Westport River watershed. You can learn more visit the Westport River
Watershed Alliance website: www.westportwatershed.org or call the office: 508.636.3016. WRWA’s mission is
to restore, protect, celebrate, and sustain the natural resources of the
Westport River and its watershed which encompasses six towns: Dartmouth, Fall
River, Freetown, and Westport in Massachusetts, and Little Compton and
Tiverton in Rhode Island. © 2015 Community Events of Westport. All rights reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
