Oxford, Miss- The Barnard Observatory, here on the campus of the University of Mississippi features a gallery dedicated to Lynn and Stewart Gammill, a couple from Hattiesburg, Miss. who were avid supporters of the southern studies program at the university.
The gallery includes astronomical instruments and Southern inspired photographs that were taken in Florida, New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta, Georgia and several other Southern regions.
The compilation of photos that were captured by David Zurick are called Southern Crossings:Where Geography and Photography Meet. Zurick is a student of cultural landscapes. “Photography is the visual language I use to examine landscapes and to share my thoughts about them, “ stated Zurick.
One photograph featured in the gallery was of a piece of desolate land in the Mississippi Delta. The caption read, “Silos and Approaching Storm, Washington County, Miss, 2005.” The image captured the emptiness and flatness of the land and how the storms continue to shape the land.
The unique astronomical instruments displayed in the gallery were Dent’s dipleidoscope, Babinet’s goniometer, a camera obscura, and Pike’s Transit Telescope, which was “used with a clock to observe the passage of celestial objects across the meridian.”
The gallery is endowed with a great deal of history about the South. Considering the contributions that the Gammils have made to the program for southern studies, some would agree it is very fitting to have the gallery dedicated in their honor.
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