The exhibit of Jeff Sprang's Old News took what could be considered mundane and showed the artistic value of what could be considered common. The body of his work spanned several decades. The difficult part was to decide which photograph to disseminate. The one photograph that struck me was one from when I was a small boy.
The piece dated January 31, 178, titled "James Truly, Buried Alive" is comprised of two images, one of a man in a hospital bed positioned above the image of a a large tractor trailer rig buried in snow. Mr. Truly waited in this semi for fiver days awaiting rescue during this cataclysmic event.
For me, this piece demonstrates the human side of disasters. This put a human face on an event that I grew up hearing about. This piece demonstrated how the Blizzard of '78 didn't just snarl traffic, but impacted people
I would like to know how, from all the photographs he took over the course of his time at The News Journal, how did he decide on these 34 pieces? During the blizzards of '77 and '78, how were you able to access the locations to take the photographs? For the Ohio 96 photograph, it almost appears that you may have been driving around, and just came upon the upside-down sign. Was this the case?
Thanks, Brian. It is interesting that you heard about this story as a child and encountered the images as an adult.
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