Alumnus and vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Thomas Hoenig. Photo by Jim Heemstra.
It was alumni outreach of epic proportions, an odyssey that would take VISIONS magazine editor Carole Gieseke and photographer Jim Heemstra on a two-year journey to every state in the nation. Their goal: To find, photograph and tell the stories of Iowa State alumni across the United States.
Inside the project
Learn more about the VISIONS Across America project and art exhibit.
Those stories are playing out now, in the pages of the recently released spring edition of VISIONS magazine and in a new exhibition at Brunnier Art Museum. Gieseke and Heemstra saw some breathtaking scenery on the trek across the states, but it was the 120-plus alumni they met who stole the show.
Their stories are as varied as their locales. There's the New Orleans resident who, six years after Katrina, still awaited electricity in her home. The Nevadan who circled the world two and a half times in his single-engine plane. The New York stargazer who attached to his house a two-story tower topped by a 16-foot domed observatory.
These alums and many others are featured in the "VISIONS Across America" exhibition, which opens at the Brunnier (295 Scheman Building) today and runs through Aug. 9. Among the 116 portraits in the exhibition are some pieces as wide as 8 feet.
Opening reception April 4
Gieseke encouraged faculty, staff and students to visit the exhibit during the opening reception Friday, April 4 (5-8 p.m.). Gieseke, Heemstra and some of the alumni featured in the portraits will be on hand, and a brief program is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Extra copies of VISIONS
Gieseke noted that extra copies of the spring edition of VISIONS are available through the alumni association ($10 for members, $12 for others). Departmental rates are available for those who want to use the magazine for alumni or visitors; contact Gieseke, (cgieseke@iastate.edu, 4-6560).
