Exhibit of Schulke photographs opens Saturday

Exhibit runs through Sept. 22 at museum

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- An exhibition of photographs of Martin Luther King Jr., JFK, Mohammad Ali when he was known as Cassius Clay, New Ulm, Ulm, Neu Ulm and others taken by award-winning photojournalist and New Ulm High School graduate Flip Schulke opens with a reception Saturday night at the Brown County Historical Society Museum in New Ulm.

The public reception is from 7-9 p.m. Schulke won't be able to attend the reception because of illness, but he will be represented by classmate and longtime friend, George Glotzbach of Santa Fe, N.M. Schulke also is providing a video-tape message.

A total of 63 photographs make up the exhibition which will run through Sept. 22. They are selected from more than 300,000 images that Schulke, 70, has taken during his career as a freelance photojournalist.

Although he was not born here, Schulke, whose given name is Phelps, moved here from St. Paul as a teenager and has called New Ulm his home since. It was here that he got his start as a photographer. His photo of the crucifixion scene in the Black Hills Passion Play being performed at Turner Hall was published in the New Ulm Daily Journal. He was 17 at the time.

After graduation, he enrolled at Macalester College in St. Paul because of its respected photography program. His college career was interrupted by a tour of duty with the Signal Corps in Korea. It was there that he came face-to-face with discrimination and spawned an interest in the U.S. civil rights movement and race relations. Returning to Macalester, he graduated with majors in sociology, journalism and political science.

He began his freelance career in Miami, specializing in coverage of the South, Caribbean and South America.

Meanwhile, he developed a close friendship with King and other civil rights leaders.

He covered other major events, including the first space launches at Cape Canaveral and the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Carla on Galveston, Texas. He followed the first Mercury launch up to the tragic Challenger explosion.

Closer to home, Schulke first photographed his home town as a professional for PROJECT DOCUMERICA in 1974, taking more than 4,000 photos. In 1978, he documented life in sister cities Ulm and Neu Ulm in Germany. He returned to New Ulm in 1986 to again document the town for the book, "A Day in the Life of America."

During this time, Schulke took a break from the intensity of civil rights coverage to concentrate on and become an expert in underwater photography. Again, he focused on the human element because he didn't want to take pictures of "just fish."

Schulke has won many awards, including five first place honors for Picture of the Year, the Golden Trident for underwater photography, Underwater Photographer of the Year, CINE "Golden Eagle" award for a one-hour underwater science documentary film and New York's first annual Martin Luther King Jr. Medal of Freedom.

He also was honored for his dedication and integrity in his decade-long documentation of the Southern civil rights movement by the National Press Photographers Association and by Eastman Kodak in 1995 with its prestigious "Crystal Eagle Award."