By Katie Atkinson
Michaela Murphy has an exhibit of photographs at the Norfolk Library this month entitled, “Structure and Light: Old Barns”. The photographs were all taken in Norfolk, and the surrounding area, and will be on exhibit for the entire month of June.
Murphy has been photographing her surroundings for over 40 years and has always been interested in barns, but only in the last few years has she really concentrated on them.
In 2001, when the barn in Colebrook center was to be taken down and replaced with a new town hall, Murphy’s new focus for her photography was born. She decided to undertake an extensive study of the old barn before all that history would be gone forever.
Before photographing the interior space of the barn in Colebrook, Murphy needed to move many stored items out of the way. It was in the process of moving all these things and sweeping the floor that she was struck by the beauty of the rays of light suddenly made visible by the stirred-up dust.
“The soaring open space and this dust light gave me a spiritual feeling of awe akin to being in a cathedral,” Murphy said. “I thought of the barn’s past inhabitants seeing this light filled with the dust and chaff while winnowing out the grain on the barn floor.”
The historian in her strives to not only capture the beauty of the light and architecture, but also to convey the importance of our agricultural roots and history. “These barns are an important reminder of where we come from and what shaped our work ethic and values. The immensity of labor, resourcefulness and ingenuity it took to survive in the farming life was huge.”
The exhibit is a poetic look at a vanishing memory of our New England farming heritage and conveys a silent reverence for the beauty and significance of these structures. The public is invited to the opening reception at the library on Sunday, June 6 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.