The Courier Journal – winner of 11 Pulitzer Prizes throughout its 154-year history – and its parent company Gannett have transferred its library of photographs and negatives to UofL Archives and Special Collections.

Members of Louisville’s Bingham family, which owned the newspaper from 1918 to 1986, have made a separate donation to support the collection, including preserving it, preparing it for use by the public, and developing programming to enable the public to engage with it.

Their combined generosity is creating the Barry Bingham Jr. Courier-Journal Photo Collection, announced UofL Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez. The unique journalistic collection is of local, state and national importance.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Courier Journal, Gannett, Emily Bingham, Molly Bingham and the rest of the Bingham family for making this historic gift possible,” Gonzalez said. “Generations of readers saw these photos in their daily newspaper each morning, and now, future generations will continue to be able to study and appreciate the insight they provide into the history of our city, state, nation and world.”

“This gift will allow the Courier Journal to retain the legacy of our work through this collection of historic photographs,” said Courier Journal Editor Mary Irby-Jones. “It is important for us to preserve and share our work with others so our community can learn about the history of Louisville as captured through our photographers in the field for more than 150 years. The Courier Journal is honored to entrust this priceless archive to the care of the University of Louisville for the purpose of making the collection available to the community for research and scholarship.”

“For most of a decade, it has been our dream to honor our father by finding a permanent, public home for the Courier Journal’s photographic collection,” Emily and Molly Bingham said in a joint statement. “This visual treasure is a testament to his dedication to high quality journalism, his passion for photography, his love of archives and his commitment to public access to information. He is up there somewhere today, smiling and joyfully twirling his trademark handlebar mustache.”

About the Barry Bingham Jr. Courier-Journal Photo Collection

The collection, consisting of images created by the photo department that served both the Courier Journal and the afternoon Louisville Times newspapers, chronicles daily happenings and major events from approximately the mid-1930s to the early 2000s when digital photography began to replace the use of film to capture images. The collection doubles the size of UofL’s photo holdings. It might have dated back further, but the Great Flood of 1937 destroyed much of the newspaper’s photo and negative library.

“The collection chronicles the civil rights movement, World War II, the Kentucky Derby through the years, presidential visits, changes in the built environment, and numerous public appearances and behind-the-scenes images of world leaders and celebrities,” said Archives and Special Collections Director Carrie Daniels. “Basically, all of the changes happening within our country were captured in these photographs.”

“It’s an incredible collection,” Elizabeth Reilly, photo archivist, said, “and with any large-scale acquisition like this, it will take years to process, organize and add information to the collection, to make images discoverable and usable by the public.

“A small portion of the collection will be available online, and, as we process the amazing imagery it contains, we will be opening up bigger and bigger parts of the collection to the public, making it accessible to everyone who wants to see it.”

Reilly credited Barry Bingham Jr., the third and last Bingham family member to serve as the paper’s publisher, for his devotion to setting high standards for the photography his newspaper published. The Courier Journal won two Pulitzer Prizes for photojournalism during his tenure.

“He was a huge supporter of high-quality photojournalism,” Reilly said. “He grew and improved the quality of photography in the newspaper through investments, hiring talented photojournalists, and giving them time and travel budget to capture visual information beyond the news moment or press release. That commitment to quality is reflected in the collection and adds to its national significance.”

Daniels cited the increase in scholarship and creative potential that the collection will bring to UofL.

“Our Photographic Archives already contain 2-to-3 million historical, documentary and fine art images dating from the 19^th century to today that capture faces, buildings, landscapes and events from around the world, with a focus on Louisville and Kentucky. These images have appeared in scholarly or artistic work, including filmmaker Ken Burns’ documentaries, Dustbowl, Prohibition and Baseball. This dramatically increases our ability to provide images that everyone, including scholars and artists, will be able to use going forward, and we are very excited about that,” she said.

Note: Forty images from the collection have now been digitized and areÌę.

Fougerousse has served as the University of Louisville’s primary photographer for over 20 years and marked his 30^th anniversary with the institution this year, having onboarded as a biomedical photographer on the HSC campus in May of 1991.

He spent 10 years in that initial role, shooting photos of doctors mid-surgery among other duties. However, medical photography began to change when digital cameras became prolific, Fougerousse said, “because doctors could then shoot their own photos.”

And so he started to think about something new, which brought him to the Belknap Campus.

“I really liked the idea of working for UofL and I enjoyed the types of shots I could do for the magazine. Back then (early 2000s), we had a lot of magazines – medical, philanthropy, all of the units had their own magazine. This gave me an opportunity to do more interesting assignments and meet more interesting people,” Fougerousse said.

He’s been behind the lens for magazine photos and everything in between since. He has been front-and-center for some of UofL’s most memorable events throughout the past two decades, such as when the first self-contained artificial heart patient in the world went home in 2001, or when dignitaries like George W. Bush. Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell, Joe Biden, Sandra Day O’Connor and Mikhail Gorbachev visited campus.

He captured Lamar Jackson’s dynamic Heisman season and maneuvered through caves to illustrate UofL’s blind cavefish research. His favorite subjects to shoot, in fact, are those off-campus research projects. He also likes the annual International Fashion Show and raiseRED events, as well as any School of Music event.

“I like getting entertained while I’m working,” Fougerousse said.

Photography started switching over to digital around 2005. At first, Fougerousse wasn’t a big fan because the quality wasn’t as good. It has since gotten much better and, in fact, there’s not much need for his negatives anymore. So, he recently donated all of them to University Archives, where they will be preserved as part of UofL history for posterity.

“I guess if you think about that, it is kind of cool,” Fougerousse said.

Fougerousse pulled some of his favorite photos from each of his 30 years at UofL and they are available in .

The Biennial, now in its 11th year, runs through Nov. 10 with 69 exhibits, 10 workshops, 42 receptions and artist talks.

Photography exhibitions – spanning traditional to contemporary and local to global –Ìęare mounted at museums, galleries, businesses and cultural institutions all over the city.

UofL is participating with a number of exhibitions at campus galleries.

“Any festival that hopes for longevity needs to support and encourage young artists and our partnerships with all our local universities, especially the University of Louisville, allow us to do that,” said Sam Miller, gallery assistant at Paul Paletti Gallery and a Photo Biennial administrator. “In addition to the faculty who have helped as Biennial volunteers, we have always been able to count on UofL to provide the most diverse programming. For an example of that you need to look no further than 2019. We have 2 historical shows – the Walker Evans and Jay Mather, which won a Pulitzer, and two shows curated by grad students, Rachid Tougoulla and Zed Saeed. Its depth like that that makes us look forward to the University’s Biennial contribution year after year.”

This showÌęfocuses on a two-year period (1935-36) in which the American photographer Walker Evans created some of the most iconic images of America in the throes of the Great Depression. Featuring letters and photographs from the Library of Congress and from the Roy Stryker Papers housed at UofL’s Archives and Special Collections, this exhibition includes a special section on Evans’s photographs forÌę“Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,” by James Agee. The show was curated by MFA photography student, Zed Saeed.

Location:ÌęSchneider Galleries,ÌęSchneider Hall,ÌęUofL
Schedule: Running through Nov. 1.ÌęGallery Hours are Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Saeed’s graduate work uses the aesthetics of straight photography to capture images of places and people that are off limits or inaccessible. The Gentlemen’s Clubs of Louisville often hide in plain sight. Saeed’s photography of these clubs is an ongoing project in which he hopes to capture images and stories of a forbidden spaces and their inhabitants.

Location: Schneider Galleries,ÌęSchneider Hall,ÌęUofL
Schedule: Running through Nov. 1.ÌęGallery Hours are Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

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Photographs in this show are dependent on the projection of light rather than on a camera or lens. TheÌęworks inÌę“Lensless,”Ìęincluding chemigrams, photograms and lumen prints, engage with current trends in which the camera is superfluous to the production of photographic images. This group exhibition is curated by Mitch Eckert, Associate Professor of Art.

Location: Cressman Center, 100 E. Main St.
Schedule: Running through Oct. 26. Gallery hours are Wednesday-Friday 11a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Archives and Special Collection presents this collection of Pulitzer Prize-winning photos taken for The Courier-Journal in 1979. The exhibition marks the 40th anniversary of the fall of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime.

Location: Photographic Archives, Lower Level, Ekstrom Library

Schedule: Running through Dec. 16. Gallery hours are Monday–Friday Ìę9 a.m.-5 p.m.

This spring, five photography students received a scholarship from Hite Art Institute to travel to Morocco under the supervision of Professor Mary Carothers and Rachid Tagoulla, Hite’s first international MFA student. The group participated in a film festival sponsored by Ibn Zohr University, based in Agadir, a modern coastal city where they made lasting friendships from all over the world. Students also met with photographers from Club Photo d’Agadir and discussed ways to build exchange exhibitions. The Hite students then accompanied Professor Carothers to Tetouan, an ancient city nestled in the Rif mountains, where she has developed a partnership with Green Olive Art Center. This partnership will provide customized artist residencies for Hite students beginning summer 2020.

“Morocco, Many Eyes, One Vision!” presents an inclusive exhibition of photographs by the Hite students who attended the excursion and members of Club Photo D’Agadir. Curated by Tagoulla, the exhibition asks audience members to explore the ideas and emotions that bind humanity together.

Location: Hite Art Institute Portland MFA Studio, 1606 Rowan St.

Schedule: By appointment, callÌę502-852-6794

, a Hite Art Institute professor, is creating “,” a “collaborative, experimental exhibition that examines the meeting point between photography, landscape and astronomy.”

Carothers has pulled a team of 17 photographers together to shoot the eclipse, with at least one in each of the 12 states in which the eclipse passes with totality. They’ll use a new technique called slow scan photography, which captures reality in a slow scanning motion across a scene, offering a new twist on the traditional long exposure. The culminating images of the eclipse willÌębe made of nearly 4,000 to 5,000 photographs.

The “Overshadowed” images will be on display at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts, 100 E. Main St., Sept.Ìę22 through Oct. 28.

The opening reception for the show, which is part of the , is 5-6 p.m. Oct. 6 during the First Friday Gallery Hop.

Carothers co-created the project with British photographer , a pioneer of the slow scan technique. As a UofL Liberal Studies visiting scholar, he’ll give a talk titled “Space, Place and Time,” from 4-5 p.m. Oct. 2 in the Chao Auditorium of Ekstrom Library. The lecture will overview his 30 years of experimenting with photography and video and will include work on the total solar eclipse and the aurora borealis.Ìę

On Monday, Carothers and McClave will be in South Carolina to shoot the eclipse as it departsÌęAmerican soil and heads out over the Atlantic Ocean.

Others from UofL are involved in “Overshadowed” as well:

• Photography professor Mitch Eckert and incoming MFA photography candidate Zed Saeed will cover different locations in Kentucky.
• UofLÌęAstronomy Professor Benne Holwerda, who is the resident astronomer at Kentucky Dam, will contributeÌęfrom that location.
• John Jaynes, UofL’sÌęAssistant Director of Sponsored Program Development and an astronomy and photography buff,Ìęwill shoot from a pontoon in the Land Between the Lakes.
• Several Hite photo alumni will be stationed in other states: Kelsi Wermuth in Oregon, Mary Yates in Illinois, Laura Arrot Hartford in Tennessee and Jimmy Devore in North Carolina.

“For me, this is like a grand performance,” Carothers said. “Each photographer will soonÌębeÌęconnected byÌęforcesÌęmuch greater than time and landscape. I do have at least oneÌęphotographer positioned in every eclipse state …Ìębut when it comes to thinking about this rareÌęoccurrence,Ìęstate lines are merelyÌęman made boundaries.”

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Surrounded by their art, he congratulated Miranda Becht, Tom LeGoff and Marie-Elena Ottman for becoming the first class to graduate from Hite’s Master of Fine Art program. The first courses for the 60 credit hour degree began in 2014. It’s the only MFA program in Louisville.

“I want to thank you for all your work these past three years,” Massey said to resounding applause.

The MFA Thesis Exhibition runs through May 27 in the Cressman. The diversity of art forms in the show reflects the diversity of offerings in the MFA program. Students may choose to practice in a variety of mediums or narrow in on one. Courses include ceramics, drawing, fibers, glass, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, design, mixed media, book arts and new media.

“I loved that the program let me explore,” Ottman said. “It was the perfect opportunity to grow as an artist.”

Her work at the Cressman, titled “Transplant: Fruits of their Labor,” features winding vines of ceramic, glass and metal. Ottman, who is from Panama, used the vines to metaphorically consider topics such as immigration, migrant labor and translation. ÌęÌęÌęÌęÌęÌęÌęÌęÌęÌęÌę

Classmate and photographer Tom LeGoff displayed photographic cabinet cards to develop a visual story and mythology of a destroyed town.

He said he perused the MFA to better his craft and to “submerge myself more deeply in photography.”

He hopes to teach and Indiana University Southeast and the University of Kentucky have shown interest.

The program started small with just a few students a year as there wasn’t enough studio space to accommodate more. But, are coming to fruition. Construction begins this month and the space should be ready for students in spring 2018, Massey said.

The Portland space will allow the program to expand and broaden its reach in the city, which can only be a good thing, said Chris Reitz, Hite’s director of galleries.

“Artists trained in the global principles and practice of contemporary art-making are a real benefit to the city,” he said. “You really need an MFA program to become a nationally and internationally recognized arts center.”

Fougerousse picked 87 photos for his annual “Favorites” collection. He started the project in 2010 when “everything started going digital.” He adds his favorites to a folder throughout the year and then revisits all of his assignments at year’s end to make sure he doesn’t miss anything that stuck out.

His favorite shots are those with motion. He also likes shooting music and theater events.

“They keep me entertained while I’m working,” he said. “But I always try to pick diverse styles for this project. There are still-lifes and portraits, too.”

The subject, he adds, is what makes for an interesting picture.

“A lot of times, I’ve tried to shoot with a minimal depth of field so you know what the subject is in the photo or what I want you to see in focus,” Fougerousse said.

Fougerousse explains a handful of photos from the latest “Favorites” project, including the cover shot of students walking around the Cardinal bird painted on a sidewalk on the Belknap Campus.

“This is a composite of two or three photos. It took a while to do. I like how it shows the movement on campus and I like how the people in the background are in focus,” he said. The photos were taken with 2-second exposures, or “a slow shutter speed with a flash.”

Professor James Grubola, from the Department of Fine Arts and the Hite Art Institute, shown drawing ballet dancers.

Cate Fosl, professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and director of the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice. “I like this one because she’s working next to a photo of Anne Braden,” Fougerousse said. Ìę

Arts & Sciences portrait series for the “I Think, Therefore I 
” campaign. Fougerousse said he liked the black background of these portraits, as it was dramatic and “something different.”

Fiber Arts Studio series, including mannequins, baskets and other pieces of art. Fougerousse said he liked how these photos used a lot of negative background space.

The pendulum in Grawemeyer Hall. Fougerousse laid on his back underneath the swinging pendulum to capture the movement.

Brandeis School of Law Commencement. “I like the idea of the kids walking across the stage, too,” he said.

UofL’s Theatre production of “Fences.” Fougerousse said this one especially sticks out now, since the movie adaptation of “Fences” is winning coveted awards.

Finally, UofL’s quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner, Lamar Jackson. “I try to pick a couple of sports pictures every year, even though I don’t shoot a lot of sports. With Lamar, you could tell he was going to be something special,” Fougerousse said.

Fougerousse’s entire “2016 Favorites” collection is .Ìę

Forty of Fougerousse’s favorite photos are now on display at the Photo Archives in Ekstrom Library on the UofL campus.

“My job is to capture moments in time with the happenings at the university or the people of the university because the people are the university when it comes right down to it,” he said.Ìę“I just hope they enjoy the photos as much as I do”

Fougerousse talks about his job, why he loves it and his favorite UofL photos below:

UofL staff photographer Tom Fougerousse has taken thousands upon thousands of photos of everything UofL, shaping our visual image from every conceivable angle of campus life.

For the first time, to celebrate his 25^th anniversary working for the university, some of his favorite photos will be on display to the public.

“Tom Fougerousse: 25 Years of UofL Photography,” an exhibit of more than 40 of Tom’s favorite images, opens Oct. 6 in the Photographic Archives Gallery, located in Archives and Special Collections in the lower level of Ekstrom Library. The free exhibit, which will be open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., runs through Dec. 23. An opening reception will be held Oct. 11 at 5 p.m.

“We are fortunate to have such a gifted photographer to chronicle the history of our university. Tom’s images are a delight today, but will also provide future generations with a wonderful sense of who we were and what we did. This exhibit celebrates that work,” said Carrie Daniels, director of Archives and Special Collections.

Each image in the exhibit includes details of how the photo was made. The images will be housed in Archives and Special Collections at the end of the exhibit.

Tom is a self-described commercial photographer from Southern Indiana who started working at UofL on the Health Sciences Campus. At that time, there were six staff photographers and they worked on developing film and making slides and presentations.

Today, he’s the sole full-time photographer working in the digital era. His images can be found in almost every official university communication and most are also digitally archived on the .

“I hope I’ve put the university in a good light,” he said. “I hope I’ve stirred emotion.”

Niki King contributed to this story.Ìę

The exhibition, “Gaela Erwin: Mother,” chronicles the last days of Erwin’s mother in pastel and photography. The show serves as both a memorial and a study in art, care and grief.Ìę

The exhibition was conceived in collaboration with the Speed Art Museum’s show “Gaela Erwin: Reframing the Past” running July 30-Oct. 30.Ìę“Mother” serves an entry to “Reframing the Past” featuring Erwin’s earlier work, along with photographic studies and documentation of her artistic practice.

Erwin, who has a studio in Louisville and earned a master of arts from the University of Louisville, has exhibited prominently throughout the Southeast and Midwest and received numerous awards, fellowships and artist residencies nationally and internationally.ÌęHer subject matter is self-portraiture in oils or pastels and most recently her paintings examine self-portraiture through the guise and lore of saints.Ìę

Ìę“‘Mother’ marks a transformation in Erwin’s practice from self-analysis into explorations of grief, caretaking and family dynamics,” said Chris Reitz, gallery director of the Hite Art Institute. “These very personal images, often composed in the style or format of neoclassical portraiture or saintly icons, fold the life of the artist into the history of art. In doing so, they transform the deeply personal and specific into the timeless and universal.”

Is it a biome? A threat? A provider of livelihoods?

For students participating in “36 Miles: Revealing the Ohio,” a collaborative, creative research project, the river is all of these things and more.

Gresham, Smith and Partners’ Urban Design and Landscape Architecture Studio hosted “36 Miles” in partnership with UofL’s Hite Art Institute and the University of Kentucky Department Of Landscape Architecture. Ìę

The purpose of the project is to bridge art and design education, increase environmental awareness and connect people with Louisville’s hallmark waterway.

“The goal is to reconnect the general public with the history and culture of the river by telling its story in an approachable, highly visual way,”Ìęsaid Louis R. Johnson, project manager with Gresham, Smith and Partners. “The team will reveal important moments in Louisville’s River History and special places unknown to many residents.”

The project resulted in an exhibition at the newly opened , 1538 Lytle St., through May 13. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Nine students from Hite’s advanced photography class, taught by associate professor Mary Carothers, participated in the project and have pieces on display.

“My artwork examines the river as the backbone of Louisville,” said Hite student Kelsi Wermuth. “Its vital existence is the reason human beings settled in the area. Just as the spine is the main neurological delivery system in our bodies, more cargo is delivered through the Ohio River than any other water system in our nation. This photographic sculpture references the life this geographical feature gives humanity.”

Two Hite students have fathers who are both river boat captains, which inspired their pieces.

Chelsea Wolfe used texts and pictures of her father’s location on his boat’s route with coordinates to compile a large-scale photo map of his trip.

Kathryn Harrington worked with her father to choose their favorite images from his trips to create an archive of what the river means to him as a captain: a livelihood, way of life and home away from home.

Carothers, , said she was impressed with what the students accomplished through the project, and hopes to continue the work in the future.

“I’d love to design a class around it,” she said.