Taos County Reception and Exhibition

(Editor’s Note: “There is an informal meeting this evening, Monday, at the Commission Chambers at 5:30 to discuss proposed changes to the LUR (Land Use Regs).  Thank you, Tom Blankenhorn , 770-9410)

The Board of Taos County Commissioners and the Taos County Arts and Artifacts Review Committee would like to invite members of the community to a reception on Tuesday, July 16, 2013 from 12:00pm-1: 30pm in the Taos County Commission Chambers.

The reception will be held to celebrate the first addition to the permanent art collection to be displayed at the new Taos County Administrative/Detention and Judicial Complex and consists of Historic Photographs of Taos County and its residents from the 1940’s era.

Everyone is invited to come and view these remarkable photographs and assist Taos County in identifying some of the individuals pictured! You’ll see crowd scenes in Taos and your relatives from Costilla, Questa, El Prado, Taos, Talpa, Penasco, Llano San Juan, and Taos Pueblo.

We hear that the former but still Honorable Mayor Eloy Jeantete knows the guys in this photo. And Judge Jeff Shannon, who inspired the idea for the photos, has identified the woman below serving lunch in a Penasco school.

The historic photos, 14 enlarged and printed images, focus on the residents of Taos, circa 1941, thanks to the National Archives and Records Administration and Library of Congress. Photographers Irving Rusinow and Russell Lee among others took the photos under the auspices of Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce.

The county Arts and Artifact Review Committee, assisted by county staff, will be sending out a request for proposals, concerning the central courtyard sculpture project as well as looking at a design for a landscape–water feature for the County Complex.

In the near future, the committee will be accepting art and artifacts for the Complex, based on a criteria that weighs heavily in favor of donations and cultural artifacts of local interest. Among other plans, the Committee hopes to raise money so that more historic photos can be exhibited, featuring all the neighborhoods and cultural practices of the greater Taos community. During the next month, an exhibition space featuring historic photos for sale will open in the old County Courthouse.

The Committee wishes to thank the Taos County Commissioners, who graciously paid for this first historic exhibit in an effort to stimulate interest in the project and dress up the commission chambers. As well the Committee wishes to thank the Harwood’s Jina Brenneman, who met with the Committee and advised them on policies and procedures, regarding acquisitions, including legal guidelines and matters of stewardship. Thank you to those of you who have already gotten in touch. We urge you to be patient as staff fully vets all the procedures.

Committee members include Roger Martinez, Jeanette Rael, Bill Whaley, Richard Sanchez, Mark Flores, Rick Bellis, Steve Archuleta, and special assistants, Debra Villalobos and Jeanna Elam. Photographs were printed by Jack Leustig and Barry Nichols, and framed by Renzi’s crew at Creative Framing.