Opening Reception: Friday, April 13, 2012 from 4:00-7:00pm. It is free and open to the public.

Images of the 1950's is a Kodachromatic journey back through time. This brilliant exhibition documents post-war Europe, and the images reflect the journey of a sharp mind and watchful eye. Photographer Martin Karplus beautifully preserves this era in splendidly sharp and vivid detail. His careful composition and ability to capture the decisive moment breathes life into these tableaus.

"Throughout these travels, I was intent on recording what I saw and took many photographs. They preserve my vision of a world, much of which no longer exists. Economic development, universal communication, and war have taken a heavy toll: Many of the towns and villages have been destroyed or replaced, everyday costumes of the time are at best worn at events for tourists, and much of the social fabric of the communities has been destroyed. Many of the people I photographed belonged to the last generation to live in a way that had existed for centuries. Each area I visited in Europe and America had its own traditions that have now disappeared as the world has been homogenized."

Martin Karplus was born in Vienna, Austria, and moved with his parents and brother to the United States in 1938. He was an undergraduate at Harvard College and went to the California Institute of Technology, where he received his PhD in Chemistry under Linus Pauling in 1953. He spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow in Oxford, England, before returning to the USA to join the faculty at the University of Illinois. In 1966 he became Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University, where he continues to do research.

Although his primary focus is university research and teaching, he took photographs for many years in travels throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Meeting people and being exposed to their cultures, art, architecture, and cuisines had a lasting effect on his life.

http://www.mkarplusphotographer.com/