Photography exhibit opens Jan. 21, 2014, in Art Space at HACC's Lancaster Campus

Images by Dan Lobdell of Lancaster will be on display through Feb. 27, 2014
LANCASTER, Pa. –  “Course of Empire: Post-Industrial Cities,” an exhibit featuring the works of photographer Dan Lobdell, opens Jan. 21, 2014, in the Art Space at the Lancaster Campus of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.

A reception for the artist will be held Feb. 5, 2014, from 5-7 p.m.

Lobdell’s interests run far and wide, from lovely natural settings in “Botanicals” to the interaction between the man-made and natural worlds in “Spanning Structures.” 

For his show in the Art Space, Lobdell adds recent additions to his “Rust Belt Beaux-Arts” series. In the current group of photographs, viewers will see an emphasis on the built environment, with attention paid to the dominance, beauty and presence of the man-made world. 

Lobdell’s photographs are of buildings, mostly front and center that demand attention and require viewers to consider the impact of civilization on the environment.

“Lobdell draws on many traditions in his photo making,” said art commentator Martin H. McNamara, principal of Gallery 339 of Philadelphia. Lobdell is affiliated with the gallery.

“He is clearly influenced by the ‘new topographics’ from the 1970s, who exam­ined man’s destructive impact on the environment,” said McNamara.

“Yet, he also draws on photographic traditions that emphasized the inspiring beauty of this country, such as the 19th century photographers who documented the American West and early 20th century American landscape photographers like Ansel Adams. The panoramic format gives Lobdell the breadth to blend all these conflicting approaches into something that is coherent, poetic and meaningful,” McNamara added.

Lobdell’s photography can be found in the Philadelphia Free Library and the United Way of Pennsylvania, both in Philadelphia; Cone Editions Archive, Topsham, Vt., and various corporate and industrial collections in the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas.

His solo exhibitions include Gallery 339; Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Elkins Park, Pa.; Camden County College, Blackwood, N.J.; Temple Gallery at Temple University, Philadelphia; Pack Memorial Library and Arts Alliance Gallery, Asheville, N.C.; Rodwell Gallery, Waynesville, N.C.; and MacDowell Technical Community College, Marion, N.C.

Among Lobdell’s numerous group appearances are exhibitions in Lancaster, Philadelphia and Harrisburg, as well as Bielefeld, Germany, and Montreal, Quebec.

Lobdell holds an MFA in Photography from Tyler School of Art, a master’s degree in studio art from Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N.C.; and a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Mass.

Lobdell’s photography will be on display through Feb. 27, 2014. Both the reception and the exhibit are free and open to the public. Hours are Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., and Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

About HACC
HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, offers nearly 200 career and transfer associate degree, certificate and diploma programs to more than 20,000 students at five campuses in Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York and through virtual learning. In addition, HACC serves more than 29,000 students in noncredit workforce development, public safety, adult basic education and continuing education programs offered at all campuses and off-site locations in many communities in Central Pennsylvania. For more information about what HACC has to offer, visit www.hacc.edu.