Marshall County Arts Cooperation
Photo Courtesy of MCAC
Manufacturing is more than machines. It’s people. It’s skill. It’s creativity. In recognition of Manufacturing Month, the October exhibition at the Lee Dam Center for Fine Art, 201 South 9th Street, is “The Art of Manufacturing.” The exhibition uses contemporary and historic photography to show manufacturing in a different way, focusing not just on the finished product but on the artistry within the process.
The exhibit opens October 5 and continues through November 1.
The exhibition brings together two photographers with different vantage points. Brad Romano, based in Boston, has photographed for clients that range from BMW and Amazon Kindle to Toyota and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. His work finds rhythm and beauty in the lines and textures of modern industry. Tom Parker, a retired photographer and journalist from Blue Rapids, brings a Kansas perspective, with images that capture the essence of rural life.
Both turned their attention to Landoll Company in Marysville, where they photographed employees on the job. These images—of workers measuring, welding, shaping and assembling—reveal the skill and artistry found in manufacturing.
Alongside these contemporary photographs are selections from the Marshall County Historical Society. These images recall the industries that helped shape the Marshall County community: workers hand-rolling cigars inside the Pusch Cigar Factory around 1920, an ice plant on Spring Street powered by steam and ammonia compressors, a sawmill north of Marysville that briefly produced oak whiskey staves in the 1950s and a Blue Rapids company that manufactured fiberglass components in the Union Pacific yards.
The exhibition runs during Manufacturing Month, a national celebration of the role industry plays in building communities.
Gallery hours are Sundays from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The art center will be open on Friday, October 31. Families are invited to step inside the gallery for Halloween treats.
The following morning, Senior Saturday will be held on November 1 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Guests are invited to enjoy a complimentary breakfast featuring casseroles, biscuits and gravy and breakfast sweets before spending time viewing the photographs.
This exhibition is sponsored by the Marshall County Arts Cooperative, Landoll Company and the Marshall County Historical Society. For more information, visit marshallcountyarts.org.
