“Mennonite Family,” Catherine Prescott
“When I came to Messiah College in 1980 with my husband Ted Prescott, who was hired to develop the art program, I had never encountered Mennonite, Brethren in Christ or Amish believers. Dr. Paul Nisly was then chairman of the language, literature and fine arts department. The Nisly family was among the first to invite us to their home, and I was very impressed with their ways. They struck me as singularly unselfconscious and quiet in demeanor, though lively in their interactions with each other. They were interested in our experiences rather than our opinions. I saw how unique each of them was as an individual, but more than anything I loved watching the bond between them, which was visible in their glances and pervasive in their humor. I found their collective love of goodness to be a challenge to my own thought life.
I asked if they would let me photograph them together for a portrait and was truly grateful when Dr. Nisly said yes. I wanted to speak of them visually, without narration, caricature or anecdote. I wanted to make a tribute to this remarkable family.”
—Catherine Prescott, art adjunct