Nancy J. Ori of Berkeley Heights, well-known local photographer and educator, received a HEART GRANT (History, Education and Arts, Reaching Thousands) from the Union County Board of County Commissioners to do photography at approximately 40 local historical sites and create an exhibit.
She has spent months researching and photographing the numerous exteriors and interiors. Her artistic selection of subject matter was determined by the best summary of images to depict the life style of the people who lived throughout the County during the different time periods in our history from the Revolutionary War to the present. Ori refers to these images as “portraits” of the architecture and artifacts.
The body of work provides a balance of images between the architecture, furniture, costumes and artifacts of by-gone eras to reflect those who lived, worked and played in Union County at earlier times. Some images are romantic in style and provide a contrast to the playful depictions of antique dolls and toys, some are bold forms of tools and objects presented almost as sculptures, and some are planned or contain artistically composed room set ups to provide more formal images.
Popular locations such as Liberty Hall in Union, the Trailside Nature Museum in Mountainside and the Drake House Museum in Plainfield, as well as the smaller historical sites of the Eaton Store Museum in Hillside and the Carter House in Summit are only a few of the locations featured in Ori’s photographs.