SFA to open historical photograph exhibition

This blended photograph of pictures taken of the Nacogdoches downtown square in 1882 and 2008 will be included in "Nacogdoches Now and Then," a historic photography project created by SFA art students in June. The exhibition opens at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 19.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The old adage "A picture is worth a thousand words" is certainly applicable to the photography exhibition "Nacogdoches Now and Then" that will open at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

The exhibition, which pairs photographs of Nacogdoches taken a century apart, is a result of a project carried out in June by Stephen F. Austin State University art students under the direction of Assistant Professor Chris Talbot.

Using a group of historic photographs found at the East Texas Research Center in SFA's Ralph W. Steen Library as a guide, the artists attempted to pinpoint the exact position where the pictures were originally taken and re-photograph the area to show the development of the "oldest town in Texas" over the past 100 years.

Gallery visitors can see the 25 original photographs hung alongside their "partners" to see the changes that have, or in some instances have not, occurred. Re-photographed locations include the square from various angles, the train depot on W. Main Street, the S. Fredonia Street bridge, Commerce Street, Orton Hill, The Old Opera House and Cox Street at Irion Hill.

The exhibition also includes some "blended" photographs the students created using advanced digital technology to overlay the century-apart pictures.

"Any Texan will love this exhibition of photographs!" exclaimed Christian Cutler, director of SFA galleries. "Professor Talbot and his students have built a bridge linking the present day with our state's past. Their photographic accuracy and choices of historic Nacogdoches locations allow the viewer to instantly travel back in time over 100 years."

The exhibition, which will run through Sunday, Oct. 19, is a co-presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Art and is sponsored in part by the Nacogdoches Junior Forum and the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts. Regular gallery hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

For more information, please call (936) 468-1131.