The Big Something Radio Programme, Episode 4: Myron Wood, StoryCorps & More

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58min 52sec
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Segment 1: Myron Wood

The late Myron Wood was one of the most prolific  photographers of the Pikes Peak Region and Southwest during the 20th Century. Though he himself never achieved the degree of fame that his talents might merit, students of his such as Robert Adams gained renown in the New Landscape movement. In advance of the upcoming exhibition Eloquent Objects: Georgia O’Keeffe and Still-Life Art in New Mexico set to open on June 27, the Fine Arts Center mounted an exhibition of Wood's photographs of O'Keefe and her Abiqiu New Mexico Studio taken between 1979 and 1981. Noel Black spoke to FAC curator Blake Milteer about the exhibition and Wood's legacy in the region. 

The exhibition, Myron Wood’s Portrait of Georgia O’Keefe, which features photographs of Georgia O’Keefe and her Abiqiu, New Mexico studio taken by the late Myron Wood, will be on display at the Fine Art Center through June 7th.

Segment 2: John Suhay

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A native of Pittsburgh, John Suhay has spent most of his adult life in Pueblo capturing its rich life and cultures on film since 1955. While he is not widely known, his work has long been held in high-esteem by other artists and photographers. Back in 2011, Noel Black spoke with some of his Suhay’s most enthusiastic supporters about what it is that makes his work so special. This piece originally aired in 2011, and since that time Jina Brennaman, who you heard interviewed in that piece, has left her position as curator of the Harwood Museum in Taos. John Suhay is in his 90s now, and still living in his hometown of Pueblo, Colorado.

Segment 3: Bryan Oller

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The last few summers in Southern Colorado have been defined by fires and floods, and for those who work as photojournalists in this region, that has meant becoming, perhaps reluctantly, disaster photographers. Such is the case for Bryan Oller, a longtime photojournalist, who now works as a staff photographer at Colorado College. During the Waldo Canyon Fire, the Black Forest Fire, and the Manitou floods, Oller snapped iconic photos that appeared in the New York Times, the Denver Post, and many other print and online publications around the world. As we enter yet another Fire and Flood season, we bring you Noel Black’s conversation with Brian Oller from 2013, in which Oller speaks about the challenges of capturing his hometown in moments of crisis. 

Segment 4: Hampton Sides

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Each year, the Pikes Peak Library District selects several books for it’s All Pikes Peak Reads series, an initiative designed to promote literacy across the Pikes Peak Region. As part of All Pikes Peak Reads, the library district organizes an array of lectures, activities, author talks, art events, and more starting in September and lasting through the fall, all built around the books selected for that year. The books for this years series have been announced, and one of those books is In The Kingdom of Ice, by Hampton Sides. In the Kingdom of Ice, which was published in august of 2014 to great critical acclaim and which quickly became a New York Times Bestseller, tells the harrowing story of the USS Jeanette’s disastrous voyage to the North Pole. Steven Hayward, Colorado College English Professor and host of the show Critical Karaoke, spoke with Hampton Sides back in 2013, while In The Kingdom of Ice was still a work in progress.

Segment 5: StoryCorps

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This month, KRCC will welcome StoryCorps back to Colorado Springs. StoryCorps is a non-profit organization dedicated to recording and preserving the stories of people around the country from all backgrounds and walks of life. On from May 21st through June 19th, StoryCorps will be parking its mobile recording booth at Ivywild School in Colorado Springs, and inviting the public to record interviews with friends and loved ones. The interviews are archived at the library of Congress, and copies are given to participants to keep. In 2009, when StoryCorps was last in Colorado Springs, they recorded Deborah Martinez Martinez interviewing her good friend Alfie Salazar. Salazar is a life-long resident of southern Colorado, born in the San Luis Valley and raised primarily in the small Pueblo County community of Salt Creek. Salazar and Martinez met in a writing group and became close, and in this interview Salazar tells Martinez about growing up in southern Colorado, her battles with racism, and becoming a writer. 

Salazar is the author of the book Flying Like The Wind, and is currently at work on another book about growing up in Pueblo’s Salt Creek community. That interview was produced by Jake Brownell, and was recorded recorded at StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of their lives. StoryCorps will be in Colorado Springs May 21-June 19th, at Ivywild School. You can schedule an interview at StoryCorps.org/reservations.