Visitors to Mississippi State University in the next two months can experience a photographic journey through the South.
“A Landscape for the Blues” by Peter Leitch, a collection of photographs, is currently on display in the Colvard Student Union Art Gallery.
The time and setting of the photos are varied. The earliest photograph was taken in 2000; the photograph set closest to Mississippi State University was captured in Columbus.
In the exhibit area, music composed and performed by Leitch is played to accompany the viewing.
This exhibit has been previously shown at the May Gallery in St. Louis, the Hudson Guild Gallery and Soho Photo Gallery, both in New York. The exhibit will be on display until Match 26.
Though the photos feature Mississippi and its surrounding states, photographer Leitch is not a Southern native.
Samantha Musil, assistant director of Colvard Student Union, had first noticed Leitch’s work while attending a conference. She said she thought his methods of combining music with art were something people would enjoy.
“Often times people who don’t live in the South have a negative perception. They focus on stereotypes. Peter has a more positive approach; he focuses on our heritage,” Musil said.
Eddie Keith, director of Colvard Student Union said he thought the black and white format worked particularly well with the subject matter.
Keith said, “The Mississippi Delta is a different place, truly unique. It has a beauty of its own and Mr. Leitch has really captured that.”
Leitch said he was drawn to Mississippi for two reasons, the first being musical. Leitch has been a jazz musician for over 40 years and has recorded over 25 CDs.
Robert Johnson, one of the most famous of Delta Blues musicians whose influence has been felt worldwide, was born in Mississippi and Leitch said he wanted to see the birthplace of the blues and jazz. He said he wanted to explore the landscape that mothered two very distinct and influential musical styles. Johnson is claimed to be buried in three different places and one of Leitch’s photographs is of one of the gravesites in Quito, with a second just down the road.
Leitch’s other interest in Mississippi was visual. He said he was inspired by photographer Walker Evans, who took many pictures of the South during the Great Depression. Evans went on to work for Time and Fortune magazines. Evans’ work is displayed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
With his own work, Leitch said he wanted to see how things had changed in the American South since the 1930s.
While Leitch said he has always enjoyed looking at photography, he has only been taking his own photos for the past 15 years.
“The South is one of the last regions of the country where history hasn’t been plowed down to make room for another McDonald’s,” Leitch said.
Leitch, originally from Montreal, has lived in New York for the past 25 years. He is a jazz musician by profession and he said he uses the camera to further project the emotions found in his music.
“Both are arts of the moment. Taking a photograph is akin to playing music in real time, and the darkroom process is in a way similar to the recording, mixing and mastering process,” he said.
His Web site, peterleitch.com, offers a better selection of his music, a glimpse at some of his other photographic works.