Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 30, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press sunday july 30, 2006 perspective b3 Charlie Neibergall / associated press in 1984, photographer Peter Feldstein captured the images of almost every resident of Oxford Iowa. The project is becoming a remarkable snapshot of life aging and change. Then Click now Click photographer who captured portraits of almost All of Iowa towns 676 residents is picking up where he left off. More than 20 years ago by Todd Dvorak o Ford Iowa ? at first John Honn Felt like so Many of his Neighbours ? a Tad suspicious when Peter Feldstein announced his plan to photograph All 676 residents in town. For some like Tim Hennes there was also a reluctance to take part in the Artsy ventures of Feldstein who despite having lived in Oxford for six years was by some accounts still a newcomer. Yet there they Are part of a collection of friends Neighbours relatives classmates lovers and sex lovers colleagues drinking buddies and quilting part ners each Frozen in an insignificant instant of their lives More than 20 years ago in Black and White. Honn a buc Skinner by Trade at the time seems poised to wrestle Bear his Beard is unruly he a dressed in Frontier style shirt pants and moccasins and his right hand clutches the barrel of a Shotgun that stands upright by his Side. Hennes 21 when photographed stands with Only a hint of smile on his face in Cut off jeans and a worn to shirt his left hand clasping his right wrist at the Waist. I Don to remember exactly Why i finally went Down to the studio that Day other than i think i Felt it had become some sense of obligation because Peter was so persistent Hennes says. I Don to think people could help but wonder what he was doing. Or what was to be gained from at the time not even Feldstein ? who snapped portraits of 670 residents of this Eastern Iowa town that summer ? knew what to think or do with his work. After a Brief exhibition at the american legion Hall Feldstein gathered up his prints and stashed the Nega Tives in storage. I had no intention of Ever coming Back and doing this again says Feldstein who retired last year after teaching photography at the University of Iowa for 32 years. Now More than two decades later he is tracking Down anyone who has to died moved or been sent to jail for another round of portraits. The same rules apply. Subjects Wear what they want. Each stands on the same sidewalk Square fronting a plaster Wall on the Side of Feldstein a main Street studio. None Are posed. Smiles gestures expressions Are optional. No one is allowed to peek at his or her original portrait before Feldstein shoots a new one. So far Feldstein has re shot about 60. Matched Side by Side the portraits show the obvious signs of aging maturity weight gain and loss greying hair. Babies and children have morphed into 20-some? thing nurses truck Drivers and teachers. But there is also evidence that some human traits and idiosyncrasies Are impervious to time and change. Don Saxton the mayor then and now still prefers striped Short sleeved shirts. In both portraits Pat Heckleman tilts her head slightly left and reveals an enduring fondness for Doc siders. Jim Jirus still wears his seed Corn hat cocked to the right. In the current phase of his project Feldstein has added a new twist thanks to the help of Friend Stephen Bloom an author and journalism professor at the University of Iowa. Based on inter views Bloom has crafted Short narratives that lend a confessional poetic and unvarnished dimension to the lives in Feldstein a then and now portraits. In their own words Oxford residents share struggles with Alco hol or abuse. Some recount romantic first encounters with spouses their Faith in god displeasure with . President George w. Bush or in the Case of Jim Hoyt the recurring nightmares from being one of the first four american soldiers to liberate the Buchenwald concentration Camp in Weimar Germany during the second world War. Hennes photographed again last summer strikes a pose similar to his original even Down to the Way he clasps his left hand Over his right wrist at the Waist. In his essay he likens himself to George Bailey James stewarts character in the movie classic its a wonderful life and shares How his dream of getting out of Oxford to attend College in Hawaii was forever altered by one simple act. On the Way Home one Day i stopped at slims and that a where i met Robin. Today we have two girls Ages 16 and 13. I be been on the Oxford City Council for eight years and now i Mon my second term on the school Board. That trip to Hawaii was my ticket out he says. Inspired by the photography of Mike Dis Farmer whose vast col Lection of portraits chronicled Post depression life in the Rural South Feldstein and Bloom say their Oxford project offers a unique and authentic look at personal change and life in a Small midwestern Community. But at the same time this project is not just about Oxford Bloom says. This is real. These people and their stories reflect who we Are. Wherever we interest in the work is growing. Feldstein and Bloom Are negotiating a Book Deal with two publishers. Next year they intend to exhibit the work at the Des Moines Art Center and they be had inquiries from other galleries. Like the people captured by Feldstein a camera the last 20 years have also brought change to Oxford which hosted More than 4,000 people in 1948 when president Harry Truman made it one of sever Al whistle stops during his re election Campaign. Located about 25 Kilometres West of Iowa City Oxford has grown to 725, its growth evident mainly in the new subdivisions and the commuters who live there. Gone Are the multiple grocery stores hardware store and Down town diners victims of the crash in the farm Economy of the 1980s. A violent storm in 1998 wiped out a healthy Swath of old growth Trees that shaded Homes along its quiet streets. Its reputation As an outlaw rough and Tumble town has softened with the closure of a handful of taverns. But As much As the project documents changes in Oxford and its inhabitants Feldstein acknowledges that his work has caused a personal transformation. Because of this second time around i be really come to realize that i love the people of this town he says. I a seeing a goodness and a kindness in a lot of people that i did to expect it ? associated press ;