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Warren Brunner photography exhibit at Berea College captures 45 years of Miners and Mining in Appalachia

11-09-2009
“Miners and Mining:  Forty-five Years of Photographs by Warren Brunner” is currently on exhibit at the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center Gallery at Berea College.  The 29 photos taken between 1964 and 2009 include images of deep mining, strip mining, mountaintop removal mining and mining reclamation.  The exhibit, which will remain on display through Jan. 29, 2010, was curated by College curator Christopher Miller and students in the course “Appalachian Cultures.”

A reception celebrating the exhibit and honoring Mr. Brunner will be held in the Gallery Monday, Nov. 16, from 3 – 5p.m.  Admission is free and open to the public.

Warren Brunner grew up in Wisconsin.  His father gave him a camera at the age of fourteen and he began taking pictures.  As he grew, he took pictures for his high school yearbook, for the town newspaper, and for the U.S. Navy.

In 1954 he answered an advertisement, moved to Berea, Kentucky, and became manager of Mattson Portrait Studio.  In 1960 he bought the studio, doing mostly portraits, weddings, proms, and special events, but occasionally slipping off to photograph in the mountains.

When the “War on Poverty” was declared, photographers were called upon to document the lives of the Appalachian people.  Brunner’s work was acclaimed for the way he portrayed people with dignity.   As Brunner says, “some did it with more sensitivity than others.”  Many scholars and researchers sought out Brunner to support their work with photography.

Brunner has taken tens of thousands of pictures in Appalachia.  His work has illustrated many significant books about the region including, Appalachia: A Meditation (1986), Appalachian Values (1994), Appalachian Mountain Religion: A History (1995), and Mountain Holiness (2003).

Admission to the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center Gallery is free and open to the public.  Hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday (closed weekends and College holidays).  The gallery is located on the first floor of the Bruce Building and is handicapped accessible. 

CONTACT:
For more information contact the Berea College Appalachian Center 859-985-3140.