Central Virginia Community College
CVCC to Feature Photography by Bill Stagg for the Month of January
Lynchburg, VA /Media Release/ -- Central Virginia Community College continues its monthly featured artist exhibition with photographer Bill Stagg displaying his series, Small Towns and Country Places, throughout January. His work is on display in Johnnie E. Merritt Hall at the Colleges Lynchburg campus. Stagg will attend a casual reception on Friday, January 12, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in his honor at the exhibition site. The reception is open to the public, free of charge.
Stagg has a passion for rural America and those things preserved from earlier times. His photography captures cafes, train stations, churches, barns, movie theaters, and the like that resist any impulse to modernize their appearance with the addition of new signage, the latest machinery, or often even with a fresh coat of paint. Stagg roams the countryside of central, southern, and southwestern Virginia to find towns and stopovers that have incurred fallen economies through the decline of industry. For photographers of his genre the region is their workshop or playground depending on the frame of mind. The mills and factories may no longer be in operation, but the abundance of ancillary businesses, either defunct or living on a meager existence, remains frozen in a generation passed.
Staggs current portfolio is a mix of film, digital and digitized film photography. There is a predominance of black/white photography over that of color, and prints are produced in archival pigment or silver gelatin. Staggs attributes his skills in photographic print production to CVCCs class in fine art printing conducted by local photographer and part time instructor, Cloyde Wiley.
Bill Stagg is a native of Lexington, Kentucky. He earned a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Kentucky and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Iowa State University. Stagg spent the next 43 years as a research chemist, college teacher, laboratory manager and analytical services project manager. Following his retirement in 2002, he took up photography. He learned the craft from training at the Lynchburg Fine Arts Center and took specialized courses through Lynchburg City Public Schools adult programs and at CVCC.
Related Links
Release Date: 4:00 PM (EDT) 01/03/07
Release Number: 070103.staggexhibit
Media Contact:
Kennan J. Meyer
Coordinator, Public Relations and Marketing
Central Virginia Community College
(434) 832-7609
Copyright © 2007 Central Virginia Community College. All Rights Reserved.
A Member Institution of the Virginia Community College System.
