Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: MONDAY, September 11, 1995 TAG: 9509110047 SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
A former journalist, Spear documents the lives of his neighbors and friends the Neugents, a tobacco-farm family in rural Rockingham County, N.C. His black-and-white photographs present a close-up portrait of the daily rituals and relationships of the family.
Spear, who grew up in Rockingham County, lived next door to the Neugents.
Spear worked as a reporter for the local weekly newspaper, eventually becoming its publisher. During his tenure, the paper earned numerous state and national awards for news and feature writing.
His photography is included in permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Art/Houston and the Ackland Museum in Chapel Hill, N.C.
He has received a North Carolina Artist Grant and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Spear lives outside Madison, N.C., in a log house he built with the help of friends and the Neugents.
Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
For more information, call 362-6000.
by CNB