The More Things Change...past exhibition

The More Things Change:
Photographs of Medford from the Victorian Era and the Present
-- Now through January 4, 2007.(Top left) The Cascade, Middlesex Fells, November 22, 2006, by Will Tenney; (second left) The Cascade, Middlesex Fells, late 19th c.; (third left) Quiet Day in the Medford Public Library, November 2006, by Lisa Tang Liu; (bottom left) Medford Public Library around 1897. Courtesy of the Medford Public Library

As Medford celebrates its First Annual Victorian Stroll, 13FOREST Gallery presents a peek into the city's rich repository of Victorian era photographs alongside contemporary work by Medford photographers Marc Gurton, Joan McCandlish, Patty Saunders, Lisa Tang Liu, and Will Tenney.

Civic life has always been concerned with leadership, philanthropy, education, art, and religion. Now, as then, photography amplifies these topics and reflects the inherent beauty, emotion, context, realism and innovation that can be discovered within our own city limits.

After all, when reading a history book, who doesn't turn to the pictures first? This exhibit was made possible with the generous help of the assistant director of the Medford Public Library, Barbara Kerr, whose fascinating collection of photographs in her book, Medford in the Victorian Era, inspired and formed the basis of the show. These snapshots prove that the past is never very far from us.

On Thursday, December 21 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the gallery invites you to enjoy some holiday cheer and to meet Medford's own Will Tenney and Lisa Tang Liu. Tenney will be speaking about his tromp through the Middlesex Fells to recreate the idyllic historical scenes for The More Things Change. The techniques employed by Tenney and Liu would have been unfathomable to their Victorian counterparts. The talk will begin at 6:45 p.m.