Don House and I are showing We’re Not Telling You Everything: Words and Images from the Wichita Mountains at the Argenta Branch Library in North Little Rock from May 19 to June 9. Our photography exhibition also features poems by Little Rock poet Sy Hoahwah. The opening reception takes place during Argenta Art Walk on May 19 from 5 to 8 pm. On Saturday, May 20, we will lead an exhibition walkthrough; Sy will read from his poetry. The event starts at noon.
We’re Not Telling You Everything is the result of a three-year collaboration. Don House created 16 classic black-and-white portraits and is showing them as traditional silver-gelatin prints. Sabine Schmidt’s 13 digital color images of human interactions with the landscape are presented as archival pigment prints. All were made during frequent visits to the Wichita Mountains in southwestern Oklahoma. The seven poems by Sy Hoahwah offer a different perspective: A member of the Comanche Nation, Hoahwah has a connection to the Wichitas that spans generations.
The photographers were drawn to the area by its history, its landscape, and its people. It is the place where some of the last Indian wars were fought. The first national wildlife refuge was created here to save the bison. It is the home of Army’s Fort Sill training base, the location of a gold rush, and the final resting place of Native American leaders Geronimo and Quanah Parker. It is a microcosm of the history of the nation and its westward expansion.
One of the oldest but least-known mountain ranges in North America, the Wichitas rise up from the plains around Lawton, near the Texas border. They stretch only about 40 miles from east to west, but they hold a central position in the history and lives of Apaches, Comanches, Kiowas, and other plains tribes. Fort Sill shares a winding fence through the mountains with the wildlife refuge. Ranchers and wheat farmers, amusement park owners, retirees, soldiers, waitresses, preachers, rangers, locals, and strangers all make their homes in the shadows of the ancient granite mountains.
Exhibition Information
Location: Argenta Branch, William F. Laman Public Library, North Little Rock
Dates: May 19-June 9, 2017
Opening Reception: Friday, May 19, 5-8 pm
Exhibition Walkthrough and Poetry Reading: Saturday, May 20, noon-1pm
sabine schmidt photography 