WILLIAM EARLE WILLIAMS
Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War

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William Earle Williams has already logged more than 50,000 miles in the pursuit of his current project, Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War. When he began to look closely at Civil War memorial sites in 1986 with his Gettysburg: A Journey in Time series, he noted a serious deficiency. Though Lincoln delivered his famous address in the hub of important locations holding rich details of African American participation in the struggle for freedom, there are no plaques or statues present to give us the full story. There is no mention of bullet holes in the barn of a black station master on the Underground Railroad, nor the white abolitionist-owned tavern that is also in the immediate area of the Gettysburg Address site. This begs the question whether these landmarks are not an equally important part of the story of our country's history, and why they would not be.

There is a notable absence of an equally comprehensive record to commemorate and honor the contribution of more than 180,000 African American soldiers, who trained, fought, and ultimately shaped the outcome of a Union victory in the American Civil War. This disparity is the driving force for Williams' work, as he sets out to create a comprehensive pictorial record of prominent sites where black troops contributed to the final Union victory with distinction and valor. Alan Trachtenberg's essay for Williams' Gettysburg catalogue reminds us how the transformation of land—once battlefield, now national park—is indicative of a nation's need to remember and to forget. Just as monuments symbolize an imperative to remember, Williams' photographs serve to restore forgotten or unmaintained sites to our national memory.

—Laura Guth, Assistant Director, Light Work

This exhibition, featuring the photography of Coriana Close, captures the history of Oberlin, Ohio's Underground Railroad. The images include large-format color photographs of buildings in Oberlin that were essential to the abolitionist movement. The photographs were taken at night with long exposure times, and convey a mixture of danger and promised safety. Of the work, Close says,"My photography is meant to serve not only as a document, but also as a reminder of what took place right here in Oberlin in the not so distant past. In the darkness of slavery, Oberlin was a shining light, a candle in the distance symbolizing freedom."

Digital Transitions: Selections from the Light Work Collection

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Photography, unlike any other creative visual medium, has always had a close tie with science and technology, from which it was developed in the 1830s. Because of this, its technical processes and materials have changed at regular intervals, with new methods replacing others as they become obsolete. However, in the last two decades a quiet revolution has taken place in the field of photography. For many artists and photographers, the very essence of image making has changed from an analog process to a digital one—from mechanical and chemical, light sensitive film and paper to alpha-numeric code and use of the computer-monitor-printer. This exhibition provides an enticing glimpse at digital photography's young history as we look at these works and consider the digital transition taking place, with new technologies redefining what photography may become in the near and distant future.

This exhibition was on view at the Robert B. Menschel Gallery at Syracuse University in 2006. It is currently on view at the Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery at the Lubin House in New York City.

Participating artists include: Anthony Aziz & Sammy Cucher, Lois Barden & Harry Littell, Matt Black, Ben Gest, (Carol Lee) Terry Gips, Myra Greene, Sunil Gupta, Deborah Jack, Mona Jimenez, Keith Johnson, Martina Lopez, Osamu James Nakagawa, Barry Perlus, Keith Piper, John Pfahl, Neal Rantoul, Zoë Sheehan Saldaña, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Kanako Sasaki, Matthew Swarts, Scott Townsend, Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie, and Kim Waale.

[Image: Osamu James Nakagawa—Rain, 2003, from the series Ma, between the past]

Digital Transitions: Selections from the Light Work Collection
January 8-March 16, 2007
Gallery Reception: Tuesday, February 13, 6-8pm
Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery
Syracuse University Lubin House, New York, NY