‘Unembedded'

College to show photographs from the war in Iraq Middletown —The day-to-day reality of the Iraq war, as captured through the lenses of four photographers who have worked outside the U.S. military’s official “embedding” program, will be shown at Orange Hall Gallery in Middletown from July 20 to Aug. 16. This touring exhibit, titled “Unembedded”: Photographs by Four Independent Photojournalists on the War in Iraq,” includes the work of Middletown native Kael Alford. The photographs document the insurgency as seen from inside the separate resistance movements, civilians affected by the violent battles, the devastating affect of war on civilians, and how the nation’s growing conservatism and fundamentalism affects women. The images range from scenes of beauty parlors and joyful weddings to the carnage of civilian casualties, the heartbroken faces of grieving parents, and the glassy-eyed shock of parentless children. The photographs take viewers across front lines and cultural barriers into the lives of a nation in crisis. The other featured photographers are Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Thorne Anderson, and Rita Leistner. Kael Alford attended Orange County Community College where her father, Tom, was a biology professor. (He is presently a professor emeritus and works on the mosquito research team.) She will present the exhibit and its accompanying book at a reception beginning at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 6. The reception is from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The exhibit is on view from Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit and the reception are free and open to the public. Orange Hall is located at the corner of Wawayanda and Grandview Avenues, on the Orange County Community College campus. This show is part of the Lyceum events series that is presented by the college’s Cultural Affairs department. For more information call 341-4891, e-mail cultural@sunyorange.edu, or visit www.sunyorange.edu/lyceum.