LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bill Carner, longtime photo wrangler at the University of Louisville, has seen millions of photographs in his 34 years on the job. As a prelude to his December retirement, he will share his favorites in a special exhibit in Ekstrom Library.
“Bill Carner’s Swan Song: A Final Curatorial Exercise,” opens with a 5 p.m.–7 p.m. reception Nov. 8 outside of Photographic Archives in the lower level, east wing lobby of the library and runs through Jan. 25.
One of the roughly 40 images in the exhibit will be “Stocking the cooler, Little Sisters of the Poor Good Mother Home for the Aged,” a black and white print that shows a heavily habited nun standing in a beer cooler.
“It’s like a tableau vivant,” Carner said. “The people are perfectly placed and the actions of each one are clear to the viewer. Plus, each of the three beers brewed in Louisville at that time are in the picture.”
Stern Bramson took the Royal Photo Studio print in 1959. Besides Bramson, represented photographers include Carner’s “favorite Leica photographers,” Garry Winograd, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Danny Lyon; Weimar era German photographer August Sander; Farm Security Administration photographers Russell Lee and Marion Post Walcott; Guy Mendes and David Plowden.
Photographic Archives is open 9 a.m.–5 p.m. weekdays. Exhibit admission is free and open to the public.
For more information, call Bill Carner at 502-852-8732. “Stocking the cooler” is available to media upon request to Janene Zaccone, Office of Communications and Marketing.
Photographic Archives celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Its holdings of 2 million documentary images and fine art prints provide a resource for scholars, media, authors and filmmakers, as well as inspiration for photographers and other artists.