Little Rock photographer Brian Cormack, a 2001 graduate of University of the Ozarks, will present his photography exhibit, ”Intruders in the Dirt: The Architecture and Landscape of the Arkansas Delta,” throughout the month of February in the University’s Stephens Gallery.
The exhibit is part of the U of O’s Artist of the Month Series and will run through Feb. 28 in the gallery, located in the Walton Fine Arts Center. There will be a reception to meet the artist from 5-6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23 in the gallery. The gallery is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Cormack earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Ozarks in 2001 before going on to earn a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. As a student at Ozarks, he served as a photographer for the Office of Public Relations.
”Intruders in the Dirt” focuses on the Arkansas Delta in the eastern part of the state, an area that Cormack said is “filled with rich history and culture.”
“But economic and cultural changes have led to a steep decline in population in many Delta communities,” Cormack said. “Once bustling cities now have boarded up and closed downtowns, and many old homes and churches are abandoned and empty. These buildings and places represent generations of lives; of people who lived, suffered, rejoiced, and worked amongst these ruins. This project was undertaken in order to help showcase the architecture of the Delta, with a focus on its historic and abandoned structures. The hope is that these photographs might help bring attention to these places, and perhaps even help in some of them being saved. And if that is not possible, to at least document them before they disappear. There is no way to replace a structure once it is gone, but a small capture of time that is preserved in a photograph can suggest, in a merest whisper, that somehow we might be able to hold onto a place for just a little bit longer.
Cormack said the photographs in the exhibit were taken with either a Canon 6D, an Olympus E-30 or an Olympus EM-5, between 2012 and 2023.
“They represent several thousand miles driven across the state, and hours of work spent researching and editing,” Cormack said. “I would like to thank Tammy Harrington and the University for providing this opportunity to show these photographs and this project. And I cannot thank enough my wife Caroline for her encouragement and infinite patience. And also my sons, Jonah and Elliott, for all the time I spent away driving out towards old buildings. I would never have been able to take these pictures, or put on this show, without their support.”
Cormack’s photographs have been selected 10 times to tour with the Small Works on Paper exhibition, sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council. His work also appears in a permanent exhibit at the Historic Arkansas Museum, and has also been used by groups like the Arkansas Business Publishing Group, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service.
More information can be found at www.cormackphotos.com and www.cormackphotos.blogspot.com.
Topics: Alumni, Art, Photography