An exhibit called “Bellefonte Kids, 1970” is on display at the Bellefonte Art Museum until May 29. The exhibit is made up of black-and-white photographs of children in Bellefonte taken by Denise Demong, who was a Penn State student when she took them in 1970. Demong says she was struck by the differences between State College and Bellefonte and the contrast between what she calls a then “hardscrabble part” of Bellefonte and its “well-tended children.”
Demong is currently based in New York and she is a teaching assistant for photography at the International Center of Photography. WPSU intern Maddie Miller talked with Denise Demong about the exhibit.
Here's their conversation:
Maddie Miller: Denise Demong, thanks for talking with me.
Denise Demong: Thank you for inviting me.
Maddie Miller: Can you tell me how these photos came to be and what drew you to your subjects?
Denise Demong: I first visited Bellefonte as a freshman at Penn State, when I went there to campaign with a group of other students. We went to campaign for Eugene McCarthy, who was an anti-war candidate at the time. And they kind of dropped us off in this area full of sort of beaten up and dilapidated homes where the people were in fact incredibly warm and welcoming. And somehow, that just stuck with me. So, three years later when I started taking darkroom classes, I just decided to go back there and take pictures.
Maddie Miller: And at the time in the 70s, you said there was kind of a stark contrast between State College and the part that you photographed in, in Bellefonte, despite them being right next to each other. Can you explain the economic gulf that you witnessed?
Denise Demong: Well, anyone who looks at the pictures can see that the homes that these people lived in were just not cared for. The paint is peeling inside the homes, the wallpaper is peeling. It’s only lately that I’ve tried to figure out the economics of the situation and who these people might have been and what kind of jobs their parents might have had. My guess is that these homes were rentals and that that’s an explanation for some of the neglect. Because as you mentioned, the kids are so well cared for by contrast. It’s one of the most striking qualities of the images, I think.
Maddie Miller: There was one photo that really stuck out to me. It was the girl in the dress. This kind of stuck out to me because she’s on, it looks like a dirt road, is that correct?
Denise Demong: Well, I have figured out most of the streets where I took these pictures, and I don’t think it was literally a dirt road. It’s pretty much in central, downtown Bellefonte. It’s just kind of the state of the neighborhood at that time. Probably the pavement was not very well kept. Like the houses. In the meantime, you look at this little girl and she’s got her crinoline and her dress has been pressed and she’s wearing her tights and that’s striking to me. And of course, her expression, everyone who looks at her has a different idea of what she’s conveying. And at least one person, you know, I’ve been putting some of these images up on social media since the show came along. At least one person, or two people, have said that they think they know who she is.
Maddie Miller: Really? Wow.
Denise Demong: So I have found one kid for sure.
Maddie Miller: Which kid is that?
Denise Demong: The kid in the candy store. I put this image on a couple of Facebook pages including one called Centre County blogs. And someone said, “I believe that’s John D. Purnell.” And then someone else is like, “I think that’s John Purnell.” And someone’s like, “Is that little Johnny?” And eventually, John Purnell himself did say, “Yes, that’s me.” And he’s in his family’s newsstand which was Purnell’s Newsstand. These are all things I’ve learned recently, not that I remembered. It’s now a pizza shop on Allegheny Street.
Maddie Miller: So not only were you taking pictures from the outside, were you going into people’s homes as well?
Denise Demong: So, obviously, I was in at least one or two homes. You know, there’s the picture of the baby on the couch. I think that might be the same couch as this. And then there’s the picture of the girl in the rocking chair. But a lot of people have said to me like, “why were people letting you come in their houses and take these pictures?” And I think, there were two things about it. First of all, it was just the nature of the people in this neighborhood. As I said, I remembered when we went campaigning, that they would open their homes and welcome us in, which was striking to me. I think when I was there taking the pictures, I think, if you’ve seen the picture of me, I myself was pretty young and probably not very threatening.
Maddie Miller: This photo of the baby that you mentioned earlier is so striking.
Denise Demong: That’s probably my favorite picture from the entire exhibit. Certainly, photographically, I think it’s particularly strong. Just to catch her in that pool of light. And again, that her surroundings are so neglected, and there she is this starched, bleached, pressed, spotless baby outfit. I just love her eyes. I assume it’s a she. I love her eyes and the look on her face.
Maddie Miller: Do you remember a specific moment when you were taking these photographs?
Denise Demong: The last one in the group right there, that little boy right there, who happens to be also the same boy on the porch. That was just my favorite. Well, I said the baby was my favorite, so I have two favorites. For everything I’ve said about how clean the children are, he always looked like he had a little cloud of schmutz over his head. But I just love how straightforward he is and how direct his gaze is. They all seem very self-possessed to me.
Maddie Miller: They do seem like very authentic moments, very candid moments. I feel like they felt comfortable with you photographing them.
Denise Demong: I think that’s true. And I think it’s because, as I say, I was practically a kid myself. And we were having a good time. If I had a mission, I had forgotten it.
Maddie Miller: What prompted you to create the exhibit?
Denise Demong: So about 10 years ago, I got really serious about mastering digital photography. And around about seven years in, I started scanning my old films. And I knew that these were the ones I wanted to scan first. So about three years ago, I persuaded a friend of mine to take me back to Bellefonte. I hadn’t been there in 45 years or more. And while we were there, I stumbled upon the Bellefonte Art Museum. And I didn’t actually do anything about it immediately, but there was something about the pandemic. And towards the end of the first year of lockdown, I was like, “What am I waiting for?”
Maddie Miller: What do you hope the exhibit will mean to the Bellefonte community?
Denise Demong: I think small towns especially, people are very attached to their history and very curious about their roots. And really, a lot of people came out and wanted to talk to me and wanted to ask me this and that. What it means to them, I felt very sensitive about these kids. I felt very protective that I was showing children who grew up in kind of, what looked like, at least physically, difficult circumstances. But the more I looked at them, the more I thought, these kids, I can’t tell you what these kids are like, really. But they look great. They don’t look downtrodden. It would be presumptuous of me to say. But I would hope if one of them saw one of those pictures, they would be happy about it and love to have me give them a print, cause I will.
Maddie Miller: Denise Demong, thank you for sharing with us. Denise Demong was a Penn State student when she took the photographs for the exhibit, “Bellefonte Kids, 1970.” It’s on display at the Bellefonte Art Museum until May 29. Demong is currently based in New York and she is a teaching assistant for photography at the International Center of Photography.