“Afghan Portraits: Windows to the Soul,” an exhibition of color portraits by photojournalist Connie Frisbee-Houde, is on display in the new gallery space on the main floor of the Marvin Library Learning Commons.
Hudson Valley staff, faculty and students, as well as the public, may view the exhibition through Friday, Nov. 9 during regular library hours.
Frisbee-Houde will give a talk and audiovisual presentation on her work on Thursday, Nov.8 from noon to 12:50 p.m. in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium. Sponsored by Voices: A Library Lecture Series, the event is open to the campus and the public free of charge.
The portraits depict “the sacredness of people in their surroundings,” says Frisbee-Houde, in the face of threats to their culture and way of life from war, global events and industrialization.
A land-locked country of nearly 30 million people in the southeastern corner of Asia, the mostly mountainous area is about the size of Texas. With rolling hills, flood plains and desert areas, it was once dominated by an agricultural economy, but is now one of the poorest countries in the world. Strategically located between the East and the West, along what is known as the Silk Road, many countries want control of Afghan.
“I focus on the problems of these people as they strive to keep their autonomy, culture and communities alive,” Frisbee-Houde says of her work. “While each group maintains its own culture, many attributes, expressions and concerns of living are universal, creating a sense of brotherhood and a global village.” She first visited the capital, Kabul, in 2003 and has returned nearly every year since then.
Published: Thu, 06 Sep 2012 13:40:04 +0000 by d.renfrew