Shared Images Document Life in Western Illinois MACOMB, IL (wium) - The Western Illinois Museum's new exhibit features more than 100 years worth of family photos.

The exhibit is Shared Images: Recording and Collecting a Visual History.

Curator Sue Scott said the theme is the visual record.

"How many times have you found yourself going through a scrapbook again and again, or, going on Facebook and just looking at images of, sometimes, people you don't even know? But there's something, I think, captivating about visual information that we all enjoy," Scott said.

The oldest photo is from the Civil War; the latest item is from the 1980s.

"The exhibit is organized by subject matter, because I think we all try, or have this need, to document particular parts of our life," Scott said. "For example, we have one section that's about community, and that's broken into things like celebrations, parades, memorial events. We have weddings. We have family reunions. We have people in their jobs."

Other subjects are buildings, such as homes and businesses, or the stages of life, including the end of life.

Macomb photographer Laura Gaites' work is in the exhibit. For almost seventy years, Gaites recorded generations of families. Many of her portraits were for "cabinet cards," which were exchanged.

"[V]ery similar to what we do on Facebook today," Scott said. "We share our images with people so people know how we've changed or what we're up to."

There are also yearbooks and slide shows, and the museum's collection of cameras.

"All the different formats in which we choose to record this history, this visual history, that's part of our overall history of our region."

Shared Images remains on display until December 30.

The Western Illinois Museum is just south of the Courthouse Square at Lafayette and Washington Streets. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00am - 4:00pm.

Admission is free; donations are appreciated.

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