Park Row Gallery News

An exhibit of photographs goes on display at Chatham's Park Row Gallery July 5th, running through August 1st . Made by three denizens of the hamlet of Red Rock, the images offer a varied look at a place that has changed remarkably little in a time of extraordinary transition.

An opening reception will be held on July 15 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. to which members of the Red Rock Historical Society and the general public are invited. Refreshments will be served.

Red Rock … at the Turn of Two Centuries features the work of three photographers. John A. Eberle (1872-1933) was a summer resident of Red Rock as a young man (he spent most of life in Chatham). Despite his handicap - Eberle was a deaf mute - he managed to record in his glass-plate images an extraordinary record of Red Rock circa 1900. Among other Eberle pictures featured in this exhibit are a set of recently discovered images he made of the time-honored Red Rock ritual of sugaring, the production of maple syrup.

A turn-of-the-twentieth-century image recorded by the deaf-mute photographer John A. Eberle. That is Eberle on the left, playing acting with neighbor Harry Parks.

Another set of photographs on display feature the same process a century later, as practiced by the late Charles A. Briggs, Jr., a life-long resident of Red Rock and founder of the Red Rock Historical Society. These images were made by Hiroshi Kazo, a weekend resident of Red Rock for the last twenty-two years. A native of Japan, Kazo brings a distinct appreciation to the quiet simplicity of the place and its people.

A late twentieth-century image of the Red Rock Historical Society building, from whose collections and membership the images in Red Rock … At the Turn of Two Centuries are drawn. Photograph by Hiroshi Kazo.

This year the Red Rock Historical Society is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its founding, and a third element in the show is a retrospective look at the society and the building that is its home, the former Red Rock Methodist Church, constructed in 1829. In a range of images made by Amy Nightingale, a recent Bard graduate and Red Rock native, as well as by John Eberle and Hiroshi Kazo, the history of the building and the Historical Society are revisited.

Red Rock, a hamlet built on the banks of Indian Creek, a stream whose waters once powered its mills and development - has managed to survive for more than two and a half centuries. Today its mix of full-time and weekend residents experience a unique sense of continuity and community.

The Park Row Gallery is located at 2 Park Row, Chatham, New York 10237. For further information, phone (518) 392-4800 or email .

This exhibit was made possible by a grant from the Our Town Fund. The Our Town Fund, established by an anonymous donor in 1996, supports projects that improve the quality of life for residents of the townships of Austerlitz, Chatham, Ghent, New Lebanon, and Canaan and their hamlets. For more information please contact Berkshire Taconic, 271 Main Street, Suite 3, Great Barrington, MA 01230, 800-969-2823, info@berkshiretaconic.org or visit www.berkshiretaconic.org.