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September 1, 2007

TRADITIONS AND CHANGE: TRANSYLVANIA

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – There is a village in Romania where traditions of the past are quickly fading into the culture of tomorrow, and captured through the lens of an artist is the transformation that seems to elude so many of its inhabitants.

In 1999, Kathleen Laraia McLaughlin spent one year photographing the humble life of peasants in the valleys of northern Romania. “They do not see themselves as beautiful or special, because they feel poor and ordinary, but I hope to show they embody beauty because of the way they have spent their days walking paths trodden by their grandparents,” said McLaughlin.

“Traditions and Change: Transylvania” will be on exhibit at Cal State San Bernardino’s Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum from Oct. 4 through Dec. 8. The opening reception for this show is on Oct. 6 from 5 p.m.-7 p.m., with a preview for the Friends of the Museum at 4:30 p.m.

The residents of Sârbi in Maramureş, Romania, distracted by the ever-present pressures of globalization, are leaving behind the enduring traditions of their ancestry, McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin, The Harvest, Sarbi, Maramures,

The Harvest, Sârbi, Maramures, 2000

McLaughlin, Ileana preparing for a wedding

Ileana preparing for a wedding,
Sârbi, Maramures, 2003

“In our modern world, we often feel we have lost something important, something precious,” explained McLaughlin. “Though they do not know it now, these peasants are losing their customs in the same way our forebears lost theirs.”

McLaughlin holds an M.F.A., in photography and film, from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. In addition to numerous solo, group and online exhibitions, McLaughlin has been recipient to the Fulbright Senior Scholarship, Council for International Exchange of Scholars, and received Professional Honorable Mention in Culture and Portrait by the International Photography Awards. She is also a member of the Texas Photographic Society, Houston Center for Photography and the Society for Photographic Education, West Region.

About the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum

The Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum, home to what is considered the largest collection of ancient Egyptian art west of the Mississippi River, is located on the campus of California State University, San Bernardino. Established in 1996, the Fullerton Art Museum has accumulated a collection of nearly 1,200 objects focusing on ceramics, ancient and contemporary art; the largest of which includes some 400 pieces encompassing more than 4,000 years of Egyptian history.

Admission is free. Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday. Parking: $4 per vehicle. Phone: (909) 537-7373.

For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s office of public affairs at (909) 537-5007 and visit http://news.csusb.edu.

artmuseum@csusb.edu