Laura Wilson shares powerful book showcasing 35-year photography career at SMU lecture, book signing

DALLAS (SMU) – The William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies will host “That Day: Pictures in the American West,” a lecture and book signing featuring images from Laura Wilson’s book of the same name, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, at Dallas Hall’s McCord Auditorium.

Laura Wilson

“Laura Wilson is an internationally renowned, locally-based photographer at the top of her game,” says Andrew Graybill, SMU History Chair and co-Director of the Clements Center. Her book was published by the Clements Center and Yale University Press in connection with an exhibition of her work at Fort Worth’s Amon Carter Museum of American Art.

“Attendees will get a sense of Laura’s vision of the West,” Graybill says. “There are pictures of beautiful landscapes and ranches, but also bleaker images of Indian reservations, undocumented migrants crossing the Rio Grande, and pit bull fighting. It really captures the West in all its beauty as well as all its brutality.”

During her lecture, which begins at 6 p.m. after a brief reception, Wilson will discuss memories of the varied and at times unusual people she has met over the past 35 years, while showing art from her latest book. The event is free and open to the public, and registration is required here.

“I think it’s important to document these points in time,” Wilson says. “How these people lived and worked – each person is unusual in his or her own way. They’re so removed from our conventional, urban lives.”

The “Laura Wilson: That Day” exhibition continues at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art through Feb. 14, 2016.

“I hope the guests who come to the lecture have an interest in going to see the exhibition at the Amon Carter museum and realize the good work of the Clements Center in supporting a big project like this,” Wilson says.

At a Glance

What: Dallas-based photographer Laura Wilson presents images from her latest book, That Day: Pictures in the American West, during a lecture and book signing hosted by the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies.

Who’s invited: The event is free and open to the public

When: 5:30 p.m. reception, 6 p.m. lecture and book signing, Wednesday, Dec. 2

Where: McCord Auditorium, Dallas Hall, 3225 University Blvd.

RSVP: Attendees should RSVP here

Sponsors: The William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies at SMU and the Friends of the SMU Libraries

Samples from the Book

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SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls approximately 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.

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