Mark Maio: Against the Grain

Against the Grain presents a contextualized history of the “scoopers”, men of Irish descent who for nearly two centuries from 1825 to 2004 emptied the ships that transported grain to Buffalo for use in bread, beer, and other staples to feed a rapidly growing America.

The centerpiece of the exhibition are photographs and recordings captured by Mark Maio – a photographer, ophthalmic imager, educator, and inventor who was the only outsider given full access to the silos, ships, and grain-scoopers’ communities during the two decades that preceded their replacement by full automation. The images and video histories he collected plus the extensive research that he conducted on industrial heritage provide a moving history of this era of the scoopers, their work, their culture, and their community.  

In addition to compelling images, the exhibition will include audio and video recordings of interviews with the scoopers, managers, union representatives, and families. an interesting exploration of archival objects, to include items from both the scoopers’ personal lives and also items from the massive grain ships and silos in which they worked.

The exhibition’s content and production will be enhanced by oversight and under the direction of guest curator Anthony Bannon, Ph.D., Emeritus Director, Burchfield Penney Art Center and Emeritus Director, George Eastman Museum.