DECEMBER 2011


Shepherdstown 250 On The Wall


Photographer Hali Taylor has been taking por-


traits of Shepherdstown residents for 25 years. Each is a vertical black-and-white portrait against a neu- tral backdrop, taken at a pace of about 30 to 40 per year. By Taylor’s estimation, she has taken between 800 and 900 portraits. Together, they create more than a look at the town’s past two decades through the faces of its inhabitants. Some of the images form a kind of historical continuum with the town’s earli- est days—take, for example, the photograph of the late Henry Shepherd, a descendent of the town’s founder. Perhaps it’s that sense of historical perspective


that led organizers of Shepherdstown 250, a year- long celebration of the town’s founding, to support publication of 80 of Taylor’s photographs into a book, On The Wall, and christen the book a legacy project of the observance. “I was honored by the selection,” said Taylor,


whose day job is the director of the Shepherdstown Public Library. In the age of all-digital photography, Taylor


works entirely in film. A few years ago she began the laborious process of digitizing selected photos with the help of friend Mark Muse. “I scanned about 300 images,” she said. If that selection wasn’t difficult enough—as it would be for any artist—whittling her publication list down to 80 was an even taller task. “I asked friends for help in making decisions. After I got down to 150,” she said, “it got really tough.” Taylor said of the project, “Each portrait contains


a moment in a life—a complex, mini-universe of hu- man experience, inextricably woven forever into the continually evolving community that is Shep- herdstown, West Virginia.” On the Wall will be available for purchase exclu-


sively through Four Seasons Books, 116 German Street, Shepherdstown, at the store and online. The book went on sale November 25 at the opening of Taylor’s annual show at Studio 105 in Shepherd- stown. On Sunday, December 11, 2011, from 1–3 p.m.


there will be a book launch reception and book sign- ing at The Bridge Gallery, 8566 Shepherdstown Pike, Shepherdstown. The cost of On the Wall is $41.50 plus tax. For


more information, please contact Four Seasons Books at (304)876-3486 or by email at 4seasons@ citlink.net.


11


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32