The photo behind a scene: Photoworx at KU School of Medicine-Wichita
The diverse works of 10 south-central Kansas photographers are featured in an exhibition at the medical school's William J. Reals Gallery. It's on view through September 30.
The Reals Gallery, which has held ongoing exhibitions since 1985, is not your typical art space. To begin with, it’s on the first floor of the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita complex, and it sprawls through not rooms, but hallways. Gallery visitors gain access through a public patient entrance off Minneapolis Street. Once inside the medical complex, they check in at the front security office where visitor badges and further directions to the gallery are given out.
So, why an art gallery here?
It starts to make sense when you learn the facility is named for Dr. William J. Reals, a noted pathologist who served as the dean of KU School of Medicine-Wichita from 1980 to 1990. And then the aperture of understanding opens completely when you find out Reals was not only a consummate physician with international credentials in aviation pathology, but also an avid photographer described as having the “Ansel Adams-like ability to look at a scene and see the photograph hiding in it.”
KU School of Medicine-Wichita has hosted exhibitions in its William J. Reals Gallery for nearly 40 years. To see the work, enter through the patient entrance off Minneapolis Street. Photos by Connie Kachel White for the SHOUT
The gallery was originally opened to showcase the photography of a medical student.
None of the 10 photographers represented in the “Photo Collective” is a medical student. But judging by the far-ranging subjects of their photos on display, all of them share with Dr. Reals the skill of seeing the photo behind a scene.
With images ranging from the almost abstract portrait of sand dunes in Linda Hamlin’s “Sculpted by the Wind and Sun” to the straight-on rendering of a bison in “Forgotten Prairie King” by Christy Snodgrass, the exhibition offers viewers a most diverse set of scenes to consider. Hamlin and Snodgrass are both seasoned photographers. Snodgrass, who has 15 years of experience in portrait and nature photography, also runs Creative Captures, a home-based photography service in Augusta, Kansas. Residing in Winfield, Kansas, Hamlin was recognized in 2021 by the Kansas Professional Photographers Association as among the top 10 Photographers of the Year.
Randy Ficken is a Wichita-based commercial photographer who specializes in fine art, rodeo, sports, architectural, product, corporate, and agricultural photography. He joins Hamlin and Snodgrass as the three professional photographers represented in the show, which was organized by the loosely organized group of professional and amateur photographers that goes by the name Photoworx.
"It’s really just a group of friends. And we’re hoping to grow from here and do more projects together.” — Melanie Runge
“We started out as six people who share an interest in photography,” says Melanie Runge about Photoworx’s beginning. “We got together to share information and talk about cameras and photo ops. Most of us have gone through various photography programs at City Arts and really enjoyed those experiences. As our group kept getting together, we started coming up with projects to do. This show, our ‘Photo Collective,’ is our first group show. We’ve added some new people to our group — it’s really just a group of friends. And we’re hoping to grow from here and do more projects together.”
Sarah Snell, “‘I Can’t Breathe!’ George Floyd Rally, Wichita," digital pigment print; Troy P. Smith, "Calla Lily Red," digital pigment print; Debbie McGaffin, "I Heart Wichita," digital pigment print.
Photoworx has pulled together a solid first exhibition that covers a lot of photographic territory, both subject-wise and in technique. Sarah Snell’s Wichita street scenes and portraits compel attention. Among Snell’s works is the arresting “‘I Can’t Breathe!’ George Floyd Rally, Wichita.” There are black and white works, including Melanie Runge’s beautifully architectural “Stairway in the Dark,” and vivid color photos, among them “Calla Lily Red” by Troy P. Smith and “I Heart Wichita” by Debbie McGaffin.
Works by Marty Runge, Jessica McCune, and Jerry Neace add yet more scope to this “Photo Collective” by this group of Photoworx friends.
Installation images from the Photoworx group exhibition at the William J. Reals Gallery. Photos by Connie White for the SHOUT
The Details
"Photo Collective," a Photoworx group exhibition
August 2-September 30, 2024, at the William J. Reals Gallery, KU School of Medicine-Wichita, 1001 Minneapolis St. (patient entrance)
The William J. Reals Gallery at KU School of Medicine-Wichita is open to the public from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. To view the exhibition, enter through the patient entrance on Minneapolis Street and request a visitor pass from security.
Free.
Connie Kachel White is a writer and editor who has written about the arts in Wichita for going on three decades now. White, whose communications gigs range from book-editing to investigative reporting, is the founding and current editor of Wichita State University’s The Shocker magazine. More of her writing can be found online at theshockermagazine.com and shockerconnect.com.
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