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Carroll Hall photography exhibit blends stories of the famous and the small

Photographs of Marilyn Monroe, the Woodstock Festival and a young boy named Willie share space on the walls of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Carroll Hall.

The photos, part of an exhibit called “Being Human,” blend photojournalism and photo-art in what photojournalism professor Jock Lauterer calls “a fifty year retrospective of one man’s photo odyssey.”

To Lauterer, the exhibit’s visual evolution expresses an artist’s effort to stay creative, renewed, and inspired by photography, he said.

The exhibit follows the life, development and artistic eras of Ken Heyman, a former Life Magazine photojournalist. Heyman’s career transitioned from journalistic work to artistic photography, and the exhibit seeks to reflect this transition.

“Being Human” is meant to capture the human spirit, said Megan Garett, a library assistant in Carroll Hall’s Park Library.

“He can so well sense and interpret the human condition,” Garrett, who curates the exhibit, said. Composed of photos capturing human emotion and expression, the exhibit is meant to be universally accessible by creating a unifying perspective of humanity.

The collection is grouped into four unique modules — “Best of Ken,” “Portraits,” “Willie” and “Color Hip Shots.”

Heyman’s descriptive and often humorous captions accompany each photograph. “I think the captions add another dimension,” Garrett said.

The 32 photographs in the “Best of Ken” module show a wide range of Heyman’s work, Garrett said. The photos capture the emotional context of historical events such as 1969’s Woodstock Festival and President John F. Kennedy’s funeral in 1963.

Lauterer used the “Best of Ken” module as a part of his Introduction to Photojournalism class this year, challenging his students to articulate the artistic significance of the photographs.

The “Portraits” module captures the spirit and character of historical figures such as Marilyn Monroe, Mother Theresa, and Robert Frost.

“Walking these halls is like a visual history lesson,” Lauterer said.

“Willie,” Heyman’s photo essay, depicts the life of a prostitute’s son. Lauterer said that “Willie” is valuable to students as an introduction to the photo-essay and as a unique genre of photography.

The “Color Hip Shots” module embodies Heyman’s transition from photojournalism to more artistically motivated photography, Lauterer said. The module displays the hipshot technique — in which a photographer takes a candid photo at hip level.

“It’s amazing to see that kind of talent consistent through his work,” Garrett said.

“Being Human” will be on display in Carroll Hall through the end of the semester.

“As a photo-instructor, I love having a photo gallery we can use as a living, teaching lab,” Lauterer said.

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