2010
Features
7
Pulitzer Prize winning graduate honored with LA art show
E mily R eed
Although they graduated
46 years apart, a mutual love
of art has brought together
two West Linn graduates.
Alexis Jonnson, Class of
2001 is directing an art show
featuring the work of David
Kennerly, Class of 1965, who
is a Pulitzer Prize winning
photojoumalist.
The gallery show dubbed,
"If Only O.J. Had Called Me:
A Forty Year Photographic
Retrospective, 1966-2010"
(named for the famous
photograph that Kennerly
took of O.J. Simpson, his
family and President Ford)
looks at many famous
connections that Kennerly
has made throughout his life.
Kennerly's love of
photography began at the age
of 12 or 13 in Roseburg, Ore.
His first photo was published
was in the high school
newspaper, the Orange R. His
family relocated to West Linn
during his junior year.
"When I moved to West
Linn it gave me a chance to
reinvent myself," Kennerly
said. "I had sold myself
to the teacher as a better
photographer than I really
was."
He was inspired by the
photography teacher, Darrel
Greenlee. He said that he
learned a lo t in his class
because it was his favorite
subject.
It wasn't long before
Kennerly's claim of stellar
photography was realized.
He began working for The
Oregonian right out of high
school and later served as the
White House photographer
for President Gerald
Ford from 1974-1978. He
photographed many events
that occurred in Washington
D.C. including the terrifying
day on Sept. 22,1975 that
Sara Jane Moore attempted to
a bumper car and smiling
nonetheless!" Jonnson
said. "There are also great
entertainment photos,
powerful images from
David's time in Vietnam,
for which he won a Pulitzer
such as Sebastiano Salgado,
John Paul Caponigro, Ansel
Adams' landscapes, Alfred
Steiglitz's images of Georgia
O’Keefe's hands, Irving
Penn's portraits..."
Jonnson took over as the
director of "Frank Picture
Gallery" in Los Angeles last
April. "I am a self proclaimed
history nerd and one of the
reasons I fell in love with art
history was because it is a
visual reference of society, so
I was excited to work with a
photographer who has such
a great visual reference of
historical moments. David
has some amazing stories
that go along with his
photographs!"
Since the beginning of
January, the pair has worked
together to produce the show,
which runs Jan.31- April 3.
"David is wonderful,"
Jonnson said. "He has great
ideas, a depth of knowledge
and is a real go-getter. We
work well together."
Photo by David Hume Kennerly
Part of his Pulitzer Prize winning portfolio, David Hume Kennedy’s
1971 photo of Easter Sunday in Vietnam depicts religion and a tired
soldier. Work from 1971 that included photos from Vietnam, Cambodia,
India and the Ali-Frazier fight at Madison Square Garden was part
of his Feature portfolio.
assassinate Ford.
"Tve had a lot of
memorable ones, but the
most recent and the most
memorable would have to
be the Obama Inauguration,"
Kennerly said. "It was a great
night."
The show looks back at
all of the ground-breaking
photos that have been
produced by Kennerly over
the last 40 years, some dating
back to 1966 when he began,
taking pictures in Portland.
The pieces featured vary as
widely as Kennerly's career.
"It's a wonderful range
of political photography,
catching some heavy hitters
in hilarious moments —
like Dick Cheney driving
Photo by David Hume Kennerly
Former President Richard Nixon plays the piano at the opening of the
new Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on March 16, 1974. He sat down
at a piano and rapped out "Happy Birthday" for his wife, First Lady
Pat Nixon, who turned 62 that day. .
in 72, and some moments
caught with the great Ansel
Adams," Jonnson said.
As for Jonnson, her love
of photography began her
freshman year." I wanted
to learn about this art form
so freshman year I took
a photography class and
ended up taking it all four
years," she said. "I had
always enjoyed classic black
and white photography
s
Photo courtesy of Alexis Jonnson
With his portrait of former President Bill Clinton in the background,
David Hume Kennerly and Alexis Jonnson, WLHS graduates,
collaborate on an art show showcasing Kennerly's photography.
Jonnson is directing the show which runs Jan. 31- April 3 in Los Angeles.
Life of excitement brings Hoss
back to West Linn
continued from page 6
"That was the only inter
view I had, whereas now, to
teach in West Linn you have
to go through an extensive
interview process," Hoss
said. He returned to his alma
mater as a social studies
teacher in 1976. Even though
he had been very involved
in the school as a student,
it was awkward for him to
come back as a teacher.
"W hen I came back to
teach, the hardest thing for
me to do was refer to my
old teachers, like Mr. Gettel,
by their first names. It was
awkward for me," Hoss said.
Hoss worked side-by-
side with many staff mem
bers who had taught him
just nine years earlier. He
taught U.S. History as well
as a class called Modern
Problems, which was a se
mester senior social studies
class. Although he enjoyed
teaching both classes, he
sometimes felt those general
senior classes were hard to
teach. "It's hard to hold their
attention, especially in the
spring," he said.
While Hoss has always
taught social studies classes,
he took on the role of Dean
of Students for three years,
putting him in charge of dis
cipline and attendance. The
most memorable part of that
job, according to Hoss, was
when he would have to search
a student's backpack or locker.
If he found illegal substances,
he would first have to admin
ister the school consequences,
then take the student to the
resource officer. At that point,
instead of being the one charg-
Photo from Green and Gold
Yearbook, 1966
ClarkHoss,socialstudies teachers,
shows off his football skills as a
high school junior. Hoss went
on to play professional football
for New England, Cleveland and
Philadelphia before returning to
West Linn to teach.
ing the student, he became
the student advocate.
"I had to wear a lot of
different hats," Hoss said.
While he attests that it was
an interesting change, Hoss
noted that the job was very
time consuming.
Because he strongly iden
tified with athletics, most of
the teachers seemed to have
forgotten how academ i
cally involved he had been.
"When I was hired, some
of the attitude was, 'Oh,
they hired another coach',"
Hoss said.
Hoss coached football
from the time he began
teaching until around 1980.
He was the head JV coach
and worked mostly with the
Varsity offense. He coached
track for a few years and was
the head girls' basketball
coach for five years.
According to Hoss, one
of his favorite activities was
leadership, which he taught
for nearly 20 years. "I think
I did 18 or 19 May Days,"
Hoss laughed.
Currently, Hoss teaches
Crisis and U.S. History. His
dedication to the school and
his job is evident. Hoss said,
simply, "I enjoy working
with young people."