The following article was written by Tim Gadzinski, the Marketing Associate for the Manitowoc Public Library.
As humans, we tend to take a lot of things for granted. Or, more accurately, we tend to go a bit situationally blind to things that we’re exposed to on a daily basis.
Take, for example, the profound industrial heritage of Manitowoc, rich in history and national impact. The Evergleam aluminum trees of the 1950s are a uniquely American, ubiquitous contribution to the holiday season, created right here in The 54220. And yet, that pop culture contribution was nearly lost to the sands of time until a pair of local photographers and an ambitious group of collectors took up the mantle of placing them before the public once again.
Even more profound is the fact that Manitowoc’s ship-building eminence led to the manufacturing of twenty-plus submarines during WWII—even though we’re nowhere near an ocean for easy launching. We even have a submarine on-display in the Manitowoc River. And yet, its presence has become so commonplace to locals that we barely bring it up in conversation.
A third example is even more pervasive due to the fact that it literally surrounds our city on three of its four sides. I’m referring, of course, to farming and agriculture. Certainly, we acknowledge its pastoral charm and open-space splendor as we drive through it on the way to some other destination, but the bedrock nature of how farming impacts our community is often taken for granted. Especially in age where acquiring sustenance for the majority of citizens has become as easy as stopping in at one of our multiple supermarkets. Or having it delivered to our residences after ordering whatever one wants online.
However, Manitowoc Public Library is serving up a crucial visual reminder for the next several months that is focused on this rural necessity, one which allows our community to come eye-to-eye, photographically-speaking, with an array of individuals from the national agricultural sector. “American Farmer: A Photo-Portrait Exhibition,” will be on display at MPL from Monday, June 20 through Sunday, October 20.
A Program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, and The National Endowment for the Arts, “American Farmer” celebrates the living spirit of our heartland through the faces and voices of the people who keep it alive. Featuring forty-five full-color and black-and-white portraits and interviews with farmers across the United States by photographer, Paul Mobley—from cattle ranchers to strawberry growers—American Farmer tells the honest and inspiring stories of the true stewards of our land.
All too often, when one hears the word “farmer” a stereotypical image pops to mind. But, “American Farmer” shows that this occupation truly isn’t confined to a single gender, nationality, or age. Mobley’s photographs illustrate farmers with a strong sense of where they belong in the universe, a close connection to the land, and their day-to-day work as it affects the rest of the world. They reveal the true face of American farming and remind us what it means to live with simplicity, contentment, and decency in a world that so often forgets.
Manitowoc Public Library will also be offering an array of programming and events throughout its run of the exhibit that places the sentiment of “American Farmer” in a more local context. Highlights include:
- A panel discussion featuring local farmers sharing the realities of maintaining family farms in the age of corporate farming
- An Urban Farming presentation with Nina Loomis and Amber Dawgs from Grow It Forward
- A “Barnyard Ballyhoo” with 4-H members and their animals on the Library Lawn
- Native American agricultural practices known as the “Three Sisters” with representatives from the Oneida Nation Museum
- A screening of the film “Greener Pastures” that focuses on four Midwestern family farms, with an in-person appearance by Jeff Ditzenberger—one of the movie’s featured players, who is a farmer and rural mental health advocate in Southern Wisconsin
And this is just some of the fantastic programming being offered during “American Farmer.” Make sure to head to www.manitowoclibrary.org/events to see everything that’s in store for you.
We hope that you’ll have an opportunity to experience “American Farmer” at Manitowoc Public Library. It’s an eye-opening experience that allows the viewer to celebrate rural portraiture—an iconography with deep roots, not just in our immediate community, but our nation as a whole.