Background on Arthur Mange
Spinulose ferns with shadows, 1968
Arthur P. Mange was born in St. Louis, Missouri on January 28, 1931. He graduated with a B.S. in physics from Cornell University (1954) then later from University of Wisconsin-Madison (1958 and 1963) for his master’s and Ph.D degrees. Mange completed his postdoctoral work at University of Washington-Seattle (1971-1972). He began teaching at the University of Massachusetts in 1964 in the Zoology Department and later, the Biology Department. Mange was a productive scholar in human genetics and author of four noted text books in the field. His research focused on the structure of human isolates, particularly the Hutterite populations of the plains states of the United States and Canada, but he was equally committed to improving the writing skills of undergraduate majors. He became professor emeritus when he retired in 1995 after teaching for 31 years. After his retirement, Mange served as chair on the Amherst Conservation Committee and Comprehensive Planning Commission. He currently serves as secretary on the committee for the Burnett Gallery at the Jones Library.
Throughout his scientific career, Mange pursued a strong interest in photography. In 1983, his New England images were featured in the exhibit, "Across the Valley (from Cummington to New Salem)," shown at the Burnett Galley. This exhibition was followed by "Delight in Familiar Forms" at the Hitchcock Center in 1984, celebrating some well-known plants and animals. Later exhibits featured whimsical signs: "Ring Bell to Admit Bird" and "Net Prophet," and travels to Norway, Iceland, and elsewhere. More recent shows were entitled "Close-ups," "Old Massachusetts Gravestones," "Water Scenes," and "Down to the Wire."
In addition to exhibitions Mange has donated collections for fund-raising auctions at New York University, the Cooley Dickinson Hospital, the University of Massachusetts Fine Arts Center, the Amherst Historical Society, and the Jones Library. His photographic collection held in SCUA spans more than half century of subjects reflecting his interests in animals, plants, our region, gravestones, whimsical signs, architectural details, and attention-grabbing shadows. All these collections represent black and white darkroom work, although his recent images have been taken digitally in color.
Mange is a member of the Pioneer Valley Photographic Artists, a group dedicated to fine art photography. He is a long-standing member of the committee that administers the Burnett Gallery, the community-oriented exhibition space at the Jones Library in Amherst.
Photographic Shows: Solo Shows (except as noted)
- Across the Valley (from Cummington to New Salem), March 1983. Burnett Gallery at the Jones Library, Amherst.
- Delight in Familiar Forms (celebrating some well-known plants and animals, October 1984. Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Amherst.
- Ring Bell to Admit Bird, July 2000. Jones Library entryway.
- Net Prophet, December 2000. Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Northampton.
- Architectural Sights -- Big and Small, January 2002. Burnett Gallery at the Jones Library.
- Underfoot -- Pictures taken looking down, August 2005. Leverett Library Community Room.
- The Southwest, November 2005; with oil painter, Jacques Graton of Pelham. Northampton Cooperative Bank, Triangle Street, Amherst.
- Window Treatments, October 2006. Robert Floyd Photographic Gallery, Southampton, Massachusetts.
- Iceland, May and June 2007. Northampton Cooperative Bank, Triangle Street, Amherst.
- Guessing Game (Guess at the subject before looking at the label), June 2007. Northampton Cooperative Bank, Main Street, Florence.
- Norway, March and April 2009. Northampton Cooperative Bank, Triangle Street, Amherst.
- Gravestones and Memorials, September and October 2010. Northampton Cooperative Bank, Triangle Street, Amherst.
- Close-ups, July and August 2011. Northampton Cooperative Bank, 390 College Street, Amherst
- Old Massachusetts Gravestones, September and October 2011. Wendell Free Library, 7 Wendell Depot Road
- Close-ups, January and February 2012. Amherst Chamber of Commerce, 28 Amity Street, Amherst
- Water Scenes, April 2013 - April 2014. Cooley Dickinson Blood Drawing Unit, 170 University Drive, Amherst [9 pictures]
- Trees of Life, July 2013, with Donald David of Amherst. Hope and Feathers Gallery, 319 Main Street, Amherst; September and October 2013, with Donald David of Amherst. Northampton Cooperative Bank, 253 Triangle Street, Amherst; April 2014 - July 2015 Cooley Dickinson Blood Drawing Unit, 170 University Drive, Amherst [9 pictures]
- Down to the Wire, August 2014. Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, 28 Amity Street, Amherst; September - October 2014. Northampton Cooperative Bank, 6 Main Street, Florence; July 2015 - present. Cooley Dickinson Blood Drawing Unit, 170 University Drive, Amherst [9 pictures]
In addition, as a long-time member of the Pioneer Valley Photographic Artists, I have been part of their group shows, over the years, at the Valley Photo Center in Springfield, the Chestnut Building Corridor at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, the offices of Senator Stan Rosenberg at the State House in Boston, The House of Art in Monson, the Town Hall in Amherst, the Nashawannuck Gallery in Easthampton, and the Salmon Falls Gallery in Shelburne Falls. I have also been part of several additional group shows at the Hope and Feathers Gallery and at the A3 Gallery in Amherst.
