Erie Canal Museum exhibit features work of local photographer

This summer, Link Gallery at the Erie Canal Museum opened a new exhibit — “Engineering Beauty: Black and White Views of New York Waters” — which will feature the works of historian and photographer Bruce G. Harvey until Sept. 15. 

The Link Gallery aims to revive history by sharing the lasting impact of the Erie Canal through original artifacts, displays and exhibits. Harvey’s works are a good fit for the gallery, said Vicki Krisak in an email, the museum’s director of communication and outreach. 

Ashley Maready, the curator of the museum, said in an email that the new exhibit is exemplary of Link Gallery as a whole. The museum prefers to display exhibits assembled by local, contemporary artists. Harvey – based in Syracuse – is a historian by training and profession. He takes Erie Canal-related photos and posts them to social media which has kept him and the museum in touch through his work

The gallery opened in 1992 as an addition to the Erie Canal Museum, which was located at the Syracuse Weighlock Building at the time. Krisak said the room was created to connect the old building with the new and to have more space for exhibits. 

Maready said Harvey’s work gives people insight on the engineering aspects of the Erie Canal.  

“Visitors will really enjoy viewing the black and white images of natural and human-made waterways, structures like aqueducts, locks, dams and other New York water resources,” Krisak said.

Because of the size of the gallery, Harvey said, he values being featured, as it may draw more public attention to his work. As a consulting historian, he personalizes much of his work for specific people, resulting in his work seen by just a few people.

While he is proud of the work he does today, Harvey said it took countless hours and experiences with failure to get to this point. He added that this has been key to his evolution as a photographer. 

Bruce G. Harvey is a photographer and historian based in Syracuse. Corey Henry | Staff Photographer

Some would say he got a late start to his career, Harvey said. In graduate school, he studied architectural history, and it was then that he realized the photographs of the buildings were as interesting as the buildings themselves. 

“I have found that a well-executed black and white photograph of a good building makes a synthesis of sorts,” he said in an email. “It becomes a work of art that — all on its own — is more than just a combination of architecture and photography.” 

The most valuable aspect of the gallery, Krisak said, is the space it provides for Erie Canal artwork and artifacts.  

While discussing how his careers often intertwine, Harvey uncovered some of the secrets of his work. When he takes the photographs, he said, he lets his obsession with history take over and assumes that the photos will need to tell a story in a century. 

“Photography helps me to observe the world around me much more carefully,” Harvey said. “My work is inspired by the search to find beauty in the world around me, in nature, in architecture and in people.”