Jack Pelren

The Great Plains Art Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will present the work of four photographers documenting the economic upheaval in Nebraska caused by the current recession.

An exhibition of photography by UNL photojournalism students Patrick Breen and Clay Lomneth of Omaha and Kyle Bruggeman of Lincoln, and Bruce Thorson, associate professor of news-editorial, depicts the state's residents sharing their trials and successes. The project was funded by the Center for Great Plains Studies and the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at UNL. Part 2 of the resulting exhibition, "Searching for the Real Nebraska: A Photo Essay on the Great Recession," will be shown at the Great Plains Art Museum Jan. 5 through Feb. 28. Part 1 ran Nov. 6 through Dec. 13.

The photographers traveled across the state in a camping trailer, keeping a Web log of their experiences along the way. They met with Nebraskans in every scale of town, every stage of life, and every degree of intimacy with current economic conditions. Still, says Thorson: "This project is not about sad stories. Nebraska is touted in the press as the happiest state in the union. We wanted to find out why."

The blog for the photojournalism project is located at http://unlphotojournalism.blogspot.com.

A First Friday reception is scheduled 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 5.

The Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St., Hewit Place, is open to the public 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:30-5 p.m. Sundays (closed Mondays, holiday weekends and between exhibitions). There is no admission charge. For more information, telephone (402) 472-6220, e-mail gpac2@unl.edu or visit www.unl.edu/plains/gallery/gallery.shtml.

The associated media file at right is a color JPEG image of a photo in "Searching for the Real Nebraska." It is of Jack Pelren, 74, of Crawford, who has been a Harley Davidson mechanic since 1964. He has owned repair shops in Scottsbluff and in Crawford. He's retired but still works occasionally making repairs for special customers. At this time he was rebuilding a 2-cylinder 1964 engine. Jack is good singer, imitating Eddy Arnold and Ernest Tubbs. Jack is also the town's cat savior, taking in strays. He houses about 20 cats in his garage and another 10 or so in his one-room apartment.