OTCHS Opening Reception - Jon Solinger Exhibit

Working Land, a photographic exhibition by Jon Solinger, will be on display at the Otter Tail County Historical Museum from September 8 thru October 18. An opening reception will be held on September 8 from 4-7 p.m. during which time Jon will be available to sign copies of his book Working Land. He will also give a brief presentation at 6 p.m.
 
The photos in Solinger’s exhibit seek to discover meaning behind rural landscapes by documenting people and their workplaces in aesthetically strong images. They explore people’s attachment to a place through their work and examines how human labor transforms a particular piece of land, and in turn, how the land shapes the life of a worker.
 
Explained Solinger, “People I know who live and work in my rural Otter Tail County neighborhood have a relationship to the land unlike my urban-dwelling friends. They develop a special intimacy with a place by deriving at least part of their livelihoods from it, and by leading lives less buffered from natural processes.”
 
Solinger uses an uncomplicated camera technique to find and respond to the subtle beauty and poignancy woven into the human experience. Although his photos have a documentary component, his intention is primarily artistic. “I do not attempt to convey journalistic facts, rather I work intuitively, aiming for a quiet and elegant visual style that speaks from another category of truth.” Jon received a grant from Lake Region Arts Council which helped publish his book.
 
For more information on the exhibit contact OTCHS at 218-736-6038.