Wednesday, September 15, 2021
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom
Registration closes on Tuesday, September 14 at 4:30 p.m. (CDT)

Now Available on YouTube

The Center for Railroad Photography and Art’s upcoming publication, The Railroad and the Art of Place: An Anthology, was made possible by the collaborative efforts of a team of thirty contemporary and historical photographers, whose works are displayed across eighteen portfolios that visually contemplate the visible and philosophical imprint of the railroad on the American landscape. 

Join Alexander Benjamin Craghead, Jeff Brouws, Edd Fuller, David Kahler, and Kevin Keefe in a discussion on the original philosophy behind the publication, an overview of the project, and the decisions that went into the aesthetics of the book. 

Alexander Benjamin Craghead is a curator, photographer, essayist, and historian who writes about the intersection of technology, representation, and landscape. His publications include Railway Palaces of Portland, Oregon, as well as articles in magazines such as Boom! A Journal of California, California History, Railroad Heritage, The Smart Set, and Trains, and a regular column in Railfan & Railroad magazine. He holds a Ph.D. in Architecture, and is faculty at the American Studies program at UC Berkeley.

Jeff Brouws is a board member of the CRP&A and brings knowledge of nineteenth and twentieth century photography and a broad background in publishing, with seven photography books to his credit. His photographs can be found in numerous public and private collections.

Edd Fuller remembers visiting his grandparents near Roanoke, Virginia and seeing the remaining Norfolk & Western steam power hauling coal along the James River. That experience fostered a love of the railroad, and the landscape surrounding it. Edd lives with his wife in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains and edits The Trackside Photographer, a website focused on the places, the people, and the stories that define the railroad landscape.

David Kahler, FAIA, received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Syracuse University and a Masters of Arts degree in Architecture from Princeton University. He had a private architectural practice based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for thirty-six years and was president of the Milwaukee Art Museum from 1974-76. He currently serves as a board member for CRP&A, and authored the publication The Railroad and the Art of Place.

Kevin Keefe is recently retired as vice-president-editorial for Kalmbach Publishing Co. and board member of the CRP&A. He served as editor of Trains from 1992 to 2000. As a student at Michigan State, he worked on Pere Marquette steam locomotive no. 1225, and he later authored a book about it.

Watch for an email on the evening of September 14th, which will include a Zoom link and log in information to all registrants.

This event is free.

Friday, September 10, 2021 / 6-8:30 pm (CDT)
Grohmann Museum, Milwaukee School of Engineering
1000 North Broadway, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53202

The Center for Railroad Photography and Art, in collaboration with the Grohmann Museum at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, is proud to present The Railroad and the Art of Place: Photographs by David Kahler, an exhibition opening event on Friday, September 10 from 6-8:30 pm.

The event will feature a recorded introduction of the exhibition by photographer David Kahler.

In the late 1980s, David Kahler was deeply inspired by seeing an exhibition of O. Winston Link photographs. He soon began making annual trips to the West Virginia and eastern Kentucky coalfields, destinations that strongly resonated with his own aesthetic of “place.” Armed with a used Leica M6 and gritty Tri-X film, he and his wife made six week-long trips in the dead of winter to photograph trains along the Pocahontas Division of the Norfolk Southern Railway.

• Doors open, 6 pm
• Presentation, David Kahler recorded talk (with introduction by James Kieselburg & Scott Lothes), 6:30 pm
• Reception, 7:30 pm

The Center for Railroad Photography and Art and the Grohmann Museum have collaborated to present this exhibition, which features more than 40 photographs and is distilled in a book of the same name published by the Center.

Reservations are not required, and the event is free. MSOE currently requires masks for all individuals.

Wednesday, August 25, 2021
7:00 – 8:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom
Registration closes on Tuesday, August 24 at 4:30 p.m. (CT)

Now Available on YouTube

Amtrak Brand Communications Manager Matt Donnelly joins the Center for Railroad Photography & Art to discuss the development of Amtrak’s brand over the last 50 years. Donnelly will discuss Amtrak’s earliest attempt at developing a paint scheme, the creation of its iconic liveries of the 1970s and 1980s, and the challenges of creating a consistent image on a diverse fleet of railroad equipment.

Originally from Auburn, New York, Matt Donnelly is a career railroader, joining Amtrak in 2005 after graduating from the State University of New York at Oswego. He’s worked in field and corporate positions, including as a ticket agent in the Syracuse and Rochester, New York stations, as a trainmaster in Washington Terminal, in product development overseeing the Capitol Limited, Cardinal and Silver Service, and auditing. He is currently Amtrak’s Brand Communications Manager based out of corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C. Matt studied dark room photography and has been published in various rail industry publications over the past twenty years.