Critique of Art Show at the Museum

“THE ROMANCE AND NOSTALGIA IN THE PALETTE OF BILL COE”

The first photographic image was captured on a metal plate covered on bitumen (asphalt) in 1827 by Joseph Niepce; it was a heliograph or sun print, through a chemical process an image would appear but quickly fade.  The first permanent image was captured on a silver-plated sheet of copper, called the daguerreotype, named after Louis Daguerre; through a partnership between Daguerre and Niepce and 12 years of experimentation an image was captured in less than 30 minutes.  Can you imagine sitting for a pose for 30 minutes?  Hope a fly doesn’t land on your nose!  In 1900 Eastman Kodak introduced the Brownie Box camera, “snapshot” became a household term and exposure time was reduced to a fraction of a second.

After selling one of his cameras, a young Bill Coe used this money to buy a very used 1967 Honda motorcycle to travel across the United States and experience his journey through photography.  Packed with little more than a tent and sleeping bag, and no mechanical experience, it would seem that Bill would settle wherever the motorcycle broke down.  His trip ended as he went end over end somewhere in Iowa.  Determined to gain use of his arm, he carried irrigation pipe as a means of rehabilitation while helping his cousins in Nebraska.  During his stay in Nebraska, Bill met Judy in a pasture while taking pictures of horses.  She wanted to meet that “hot shot” photographer from San Francisco who rode in on the wrong side of the motorcycle.  The next summer Bill would return to Nebraska, and Judy, his future wife.    In contrast to life growing up near Philly and Manhattan, Nebraska would provide a whole new picturesque landscape filled with orange and blue sunsets, windmills that challenge the smallest skyscrapers, and dilapidated homesteads where nostalgic photographers admire their beauty.  Bill and his wife have lived in various locations in Nebraska, but have called Max, Neb, home for the last eight years.

You can see this nostalgia captured in Bill’s photography at the Prairie Museum of Art and History in Colby until February 10^th.  Open hours are Tuesday – Friday 9 am to 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5 pm.  Bill says, “You don’t need a telephoto lens to take a good picture,” you can find plenty of interesting picture tidbits in one square block in San Francisco; learning to observe your surroundings will allow you to be a better photographer.  This is a show that all ages can appreciate and identify with; for the youngsters it might remind them of trips to the pasture to check cattle with grandpa, and adults will remember how hard they had to work just to make a dollar …… and that ‘fun and games’ happened after the work was done and not in front of the TV.  It is a must see, and the staff at the Prairie Museum are friendly and greet you with a smile.

By Rebel Jay, Art Instructor, Colby Community College