More than three years in the making, the San Marino Centennial Photography Project will see the light of day for the whole community to view and enjoy from Monday, Aug. 15 through Sept. 30 in the Claire Crowley Art Gallery at San Marino High School.
The handiwork of photographers Bill Youngblood and Terry Fouché, the exhibit will offer a selection of the more than 60,000 images that comprise the ambitious project, which was launched in 2012.
“How life was life in San Marino at the end of its first century and the beginning of its second,” Youngblood told The Tribune.
San Marino marked her centennial in in 2012.
“How life was life in San Marino at the end of its first century and the beginning of its second,” Youngblood told The Tribune.
San Marino marked her centennial in April, 2013, with a celebration in Lacy Park that concluded with a group photo that included hundreds of residents, all documented by the photographers. Youngblood estimated that he and Fouché personally covered more than 500 events during the duration of the effort.
“San Marino’s Homecoming parade, the 4th of July celebration in Lacy Park, Christmas Along the Drive, Grad Night construction, Grad Night. Everything that makes San Marino the unique community it is,” said Youngblood, a graduate of San Marino High School, who while still a student received the first paycheck of his life from The Tribune.
The exhibition will be presented in multimedia form featuring images displayed in both print and video.
“Under the surface, San Marino is so intricate,” said Fouché. “Working on the project showed us how much goes on in this small, quiet town. It is really amazing what goes on here that is often unnoticed.”
A public evening reception for residents to gather, view and enjoy the images will be held during the exhibit; the date and time of which will be announced soon.
When the exhibition is completed, the images will be placed in the permanent archives of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens.
“The San Marino Centennial Photography project is a city’s letter to its future,” said Youngblood. “Archived at The Huntington Library, a century from now community members will see how the the city lived and how it celebrated. It is anthropology through a camera lens.”
