In a snap : Three photo exhibits to see now

Photo: Andrew Stanbridge

“War is Only Half the Story: The Aftermath Project”
Gage Gallery, through Jan 9, 2009.
“As a reporter, I had been drawn to places after the headlines, after reporters had come and gone,” says Sara Terry, a photojournalist who put together this photography project. “I started a grant program funding photographers to cover the aftermath of war—a story that no [news outlet] assigns.” The exhibit features the work of four grantees, including Andrew Stanbridge (pictured). “His work is about how the tools of war remain in the Laotian countryside. The end of violence just means the guns stop—it doesn’t mean peace.”

Photo: Courtesy of Smith Kramer Fine Art Services

“The Power of Music”
Naper Settlement, through Dec 14.
“This is the Brownie Band, reproduced from a cabinet card—a type of photo popular in the late 19th century, like ones you’d give to friends today—dated June 18, 1897,” says Naper Settlement’s assistant curator, Jennifer Bridge. This image joins several enigmatic old-timey photos that capture folks with their instruments. “In this photo, I wonder if they were professionals, what kind of gigs they got,” Bridge says. But not everything in the show leaves you guessing: “There’s a photograph of a lady’s banjo and mandolin orchestra. You can learn a lot about popular music trends.”

Photo: Tom Petrillo

“Walls that Speak: Rock Art in the Southwest”
Mitchell Museum, through Oct 5.
“It’s an alcove west of Moab, Utah, in a rather remote area called Canyonlands,” says photographer Tom Petrillo. “It feels overwhelming when you’re standing there.” A family vacation to the American Southwest piqued the photographer’s interest in ancient art, starting him photographing these ancient drawings from 2002 to 2007. “This [drawing] might be 2,000 years old. We’re not sure what it is, but it was meant to relate to something more. It’s large enough—each character is around five feet—that people could gather around.” Petrillo muses on rock art: “Just something about it is inspirational and mysterious; I like that kind of open-ended enigma.”