Photo exhibition of Greensburg disaster on display at WSU

A photography exhibition, “Larry Schwarm: Greensburg After the Storm,” is on display at the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State until Sunday, Aug. 10.

Larry Schwarm is the most prominent fine art photographer living in Kansas. His hometown is Greensburg, Kan., which was nearly totally destroyed by a tornado May 4, 2007.

Prompted by a middle-of-the-night telephone call from his parents, Schwarm hurried to his hometown, checked on his family and began a series of photographs the morning after the storm.

He returned repeatedly to capture the stark reality of the surreal terrain that was once a town.

Many may be familiar with Schwarm’s award-winning photographs of the annual burns in the Flint Hills. His past photography has been recognized for its sensitivity to place and landscape. He brings that powerful ability to bear on town ruins and aftermath in Kansas tornado alley.

Exhibitions with Schwarm’s work have been organized by the Smithsonian Institution, Art Institute of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Milwaukee Art Museum and virtually every museum throughout Kansas and the region.

“Larry Schwarm: Greensburg After the Storm” is organized by the Ulrich.

The exhibition is supported by Bankers’ Bank of Kansas, Harry Pollak, Reuben Saunders, Richard D. Smith, Southwest National Bank, Mike and Rhonda Vess, and the Kansas Arts Commission.