{"id":23602,"date":"2022-09-09T19:50:06","date_gmt":"2022-09-09T23:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2022\/09\/09\/first-art-gallery-show-of-the-semester-now-open\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:59:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:59:34","slug":"first-art-gallery-show-of-the-semester-now-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/09\/09\/first-art-gallery-show-of-the-semester-now-open\/","title":{"rendered":"First Art Gallery Show of the Semester Now Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

Haverhill, MA (September 9, 2022) \u2013 Northern Essex Community College is proud to present the first gallery show of the fall semester in the Linda Hummel-Shea ArtSpace<\/a>. The show is titled \u201cThe Middle-West\u201d and exhibits photographs from Iowa by Jeff Caplan.<\/p>\n

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“John Deer Used” by Jeff Caplan<\/p><\/div>\n

Caplan took the photographs starting in 2019 when he moved from Lowell, MA, to Oskaloosa, Iowa, for a position at William Penn University.\u00a0In his previous works, Caplan explored the \u201curban and industrial decay of architecture and infrastructure.\u201d He says moving to a more rural setting gave him a new perspective on his art and his life. “Living in this unfamiliar place, I was able to see the country from two very different perspectives as it lumbered through a turbulent time, which included a volatile political climate, a division of solidarity within the United States, and a global pandemic that was traumatizing for so many of us.”<\/p>\n

Works include \u201cOzinga Feed Service Inc.\u201d which captures the shining steel silos of a livestock feed processing plant, and a display of vintage tractors from a small county fair in \u201cTractor Faces 1-10.\u201d Caplan says these images evoke a culture that perhaps embraces the simpler things in life and is happy to live in a place with fewer distractions than those in more populated areas.<\/p>\n

In a review of the exhibit, visual artist and professor Markus Haala writes:<\/p>\n

What appears to be a document of the mundane Iowa landscape is undeniably more personal and profound than a first glance reveals. Where his earlier works, such as \u201cFrom Tools to Twilight,\u201d poetically mourn the disappearance of historical Americana, “The Middle-West” presents the viewer with the mood of an isolated outside perspective, reflecting on a place that is not home.<\/p>\n

An Opening and Artist Talk is scheduled for Thursday, September 22nd, from 3-6 pm. “The Middle-West” runs through October 15.<\/p>\n

The Linda Hummel-Shea ArtSpace is located in the Bentley Library on NECC\u2019s Haverhill Campus, 100 Elliot Street. It is open Monday- Thursday from 8 am-9 pm, and Friday 8 am-4 pm. This show is sponsored by the NECC Art Department and the Liberal Arts Division. For more information, contact mcarter@necc.mass.edu<\/a> or mmannheimer@necc.mass.edu.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t