Patrons of the Pershing County Library are in for a surprise. How about a traveling art show? It will be in Lovelock for a couple of months and then, hopefully, travel to other counties.
“So far, the exhibit has been to Fallon, Yerington and Fernley,” says Marie Nygren, the artist. “It would be great to show next in Winnemucca and Battle Mountain. I’m trying to find a contact in those towns with space to display the photographs, such as a library, museum or administration building.”
The photographer lives in Fallon and directs the art gallery at Western Nevada College. Originally, she set out to hike and photograph Nevada’s state parks. Along the way, she had the idea of photographing each of Nevada’s counties.
It’s intriguing to see what caught her attention. Eureka County’s photo shows a lace-curtained window against a brick backdrop. A broken-down fence in Pershing County rolls across a field.
Nygren hopes the photos give the viewer a window to Nevada’s “exquisite beauty and vastness.” They highlight Nevada’s clouds, geology, sunsets and more.
The photographs are printed on canvas and, at first glance, look like landscape paintings. The viewer has the sensation of walking up to Nye County’s ‘Church on the Hill.’ Mineral County’s Calico Hills appear three-dimensional. So do the boulders in Lake Tahoe.
Nygren also stocked Pershing County Library’s display case. We see the artist’s shadow as she crouches to photograph a rusted vehicle. The canvas rests on two books - Michael Freeman’s ‘Perfect Exposure,’ and ‘A Beautiful Mess’ by Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman.
“’Perfect Exposure’ deals with the technological side of photography. ‘A Beautiful Mess’ is about the creative side. Both are key elements of photography,” Nygren explains. She encourages people to learn more and suggests the library as a starting point.
“Enjoy the photographs and be reminded of all the reasons why ‘Home Means Nevada,’” says Kathie Brinkerhoff, the director of Pershing County Library.
For more information, contact Marie Nygren at 775-426-8808
flowerchildmn@hotmail.com
