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HIGHTSTOWN: Peddie embraces social change in photography exhibit

By Amy Batista, Special Writer
   HIGHSTOWN— Last month, the Peddie School held an art exhibit featuring the work of the late photographer Leonard Ross.
   The show, “Leonard Ross: Photographs of Social Change” was held in the Mariboe Gallery.
   Mr. Ross, a photographer for more than 50 years of his life, left behind moving photos which according to the curator, Daniel Palmer, “are of the area and life around Hightstown at a moment of change, and Ross documented this era so perfectly.”
   An opening reception was held June 1 in which visitors had an opportunity to view the show and speak with Mr. Palmer, who gave a talk on the show. Also present for the exhibition was Vivian Ross, the photographer’s widow, and Dr. Seth Gopin, professor art history emeritus at Rutgers University.
   Approximately 50 people were in attendance at the opening reception. Around 60 photographs are on display.
   ”The goal was to show these wonderful photographs of a remarkably talented photographer,” said Mr. Palmer of Brooklyn. 
   He said of the exhibit, “Hopefully, people will see these photographs and have an idea of what the area was once like, what has changed, what has stayed the same, but realize that the camera is a powerful tool for examining and conveying the subtle beauty in the world.”
   Mr. Palmer noted that he was writing his dissertation on the art and architecture of the Jersey Homesteads.
   ”This was a very appropriate project for me to become involved with,” Mr. Palmer said.
      Leonard Ross lived from 1927 until 2008, a photographer whose career spanned 50 years. He was a distinguished photographer whose documentation of Bethlehem Steel Company construction projects were exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, according to Mr. Gopin.
   ”Leonard Ross is my uncle,” said Seth Gopin, of New York City, and a retired associate dean at Rutgers University.
   ”When he died in 2008, I was helping my aunt clean out her house and we came across hundreds of his old photographs. As I did not want to destroy them, I brought them back to my apartment and kept them in several boxes,” Mr. Gopin said.
   It was in 2010, with Mr. Gopin and his student, Mr. Palmer, looking through the photos that his uncle took, that Mr. Gopin, “I thought it would make a good exhibit.”
   ”He had photos from the late 1930s in Hightstown, 1940s in New York and from his army service, and from 1950s onward, from his work at Bethlehem Steel,” Mr. Gopin said.
   According to Mr. Gopin, Mr. Ross was a member of the famous New York Photo League and also had exhibited his photographs in the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Allentown Museum.
   ”Ross’ concern for the people he photographed was fostered by his membership in the Photo League, a cooperative of socially engaged photographers, which he formally joined in 1947,” Mr. Gopin said.
   Vivan Ross, his wife, reminisced about the days they drove through Hightstown and talked about his photographs and interests.
   ”I remember going through Hightstown in the 1950s with my husband,” said Ms. Ross.
   ”He always talked about how he could only photograph what was nearby since he was only a teenager in high school. But what really interested him were the people in area whether they were craftsmen or farm workers. He had a real sense of empathy with working people because you read stories in their faces,” Ms. Ross said.
   Mr. Gopin noted that he had a lot of unpublished photos from his uncle and wanted to be able to share those with others.
   ”As we had lots of unpublished photos, some of important figures, and thought it an opportunity too good too pass up,” Mr. Gopin said.
   ”Ross and many others were the progeny of a bold experiment and went out into the world and really made a difference, thanks to encouragement from Ben Shahn and other important community members,” Mr. Palmer said.
   Ross’ family members were original settlers to Jersey Homesteads, today known as Roosevelt. He grew up in Roosevelt and had wonderful photographs from the 30s and 40s of Hightstown, Mr. Gopin explained.
   ”Peddie was very excited to host the exhibit. Accordingly, this exhibition of an understudied photographer is placed in a school setting with the hopes of inspiring the next generation of budding artists to look more closely at the world around them,” Mr. Gopin said.
   Visit www.peddie.org/leonardross.