What We Inherit: An Evening with Robert A. Flischel and Michael Wilson

“Eight years ago, I overheard a comment that sparked the inspiration for this book: “Everyone in this country gets the same opportunities. Some people choose to use them, and others don’t.”

I think the comment got my full attention because it contrasts so starkly with my own experience.

I’ve spent years as a social worker and photojournalist working with impoverished people. I’ve also heard many stories from my wife and daughter, both teachers in poor neighborhoods. Perhaps most compellingly, I’ve witnessed family members and friends struggle with addiction, mental illness, family disintegration, disease, and spousal abuse—all of which, of course, can quickly lead to poverty or make poverty almost impossible to escape.

I wanted to create a photographic documentation of poverty in Southern Ohio, Southern Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia from the year 1900 to the present to show the reality of what people must overcome from one generation to the next—before they can begin to take advantage of the “opportunities” many of us take for granted.” — From the introduction by Robert A. Flischel

6 pm reception/6:30 pm program
Free & open to the public. Registration required.

Copies of What We Inherit will be available for sale & signing.

About Robert A. Flischel

Robert A. Flischel graduated from Purcell High School in 1967 and Xavier University in 1972. He studied photography with Kazik Pazovski from 1972-1974. Mr. Flischel is a founding trustee of Radio Reading Service, which assists the visually impaired. He has served on the board of the Regional Chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers and is currently President Emeritus of The Art League, serving Cincinnati Public Schools. Mr. Flischel has taught photography at Northern Kentucky University and lectures frequently on historic preservation.

About Michael Wilson

Michael Wilson was born in 1959 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Discovering a love of photography in college he began work as a freelance photographer in 1987. His work in the music industry is the most recognizable face of his freelance work. Among the artists Michael has photographed are: Lyle Lovett, David Byrne, B.B.King, Emmylou Harris, Bill Frisell, Joshua Redman, Philip Glass, Robert Plant, Doctor John and Doc Watson.

His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions including the The Annenberg Space for Photography (Los Angeles, California), Cincinnati Art Museum, the Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati, Ohio), Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art (Cleveland, Ohio) and the J.B. Speed Museum (Louisville, Kentucky).

He is Resident Instructor of photography at Manifest Drawing Center in Cincinnati.