Historically, tumultuous events have framed anew the question of what “matters” to us, as individuals, community, and society. And photography long has been a powerful force in giving personal and cultural currently to what is important.
Picturing What Matters: An Offering of Photographs is on exhibit at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus from September 9, 2006 – January 28, 2007.
The 128 images from the Eastman House collections were chosen by that museum’s staff to affirm the beliefs and ideals held by a people and a nation. These photographs include iconic images such as:
- Joe Rosenthal’s historic flag raising at Iwo Jima
- Ben Fernandez’s portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. outside the United Nations
- Dorothea Lange’s poignant “Migrant Mother”
Presented in conjunction with the Picturing What Matters exhibition is The Armory Wall: A Tribute to September 11 Photographs by John Taylor and Dianne Dubler.
In the days immediately following the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City, people began posting notices of missing loved ones on the long brick wall in front of the Armory building on Lexington Avenue. It became the community bulletin board for expressing grief and hope for hundreds of people after those early days of chaos. Photographers documented the wall with life-sized photographs. The impression is that of standing in front of the actual wall. A walk along the "wall" brings back the intensity of those days and can be likened to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.
Picturing What Matters: An Offering of Photographs from the George Eastman House Collection and The Armory Wall: A Tribute to September 11 Photographs by John Taylor and Dianne Dubler was organized by George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, who gratefully acknowledges the support of OppenheimerFunds, Inc. and Eastman Kodak Company.
