What: The exhibition – Native Americans through the Prism of Culture: Edward S. Curtis & the Legacy of Collectors

When: July 5, 2007 to June 15, 2008

Where: Palmer and Mull Galleries in Rockwell Hall on the corner of East Main and South Lincoln streets on the Kent Campus

Background: The exhibition Native Americans through the Prism of Culture: Edward S. Curtis & the Legacy of Collectors is a collaborative effort between two Northeast Ohio cultural institutions, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens and the Kent State University Museum.  The exhibition features photographs of Native Americans by Edward S. Curtis, as well as artifacts from different tribal groups.  The exhibition includes items from the collections of Stan Hywet Hall founder Franklin August Seiberling, Kent State University Museum founder Shannon Rodgers and Jerry Silverman, as well as Valerie and Dean Hugebeck, and provides the opportunity to address the issues of subjectivity and idealism both in collecting practices and in the photographic work of Edward S. Curtis.
 
In an effort to document the lives of the Native people of North America, Curtis embarked on a life-long journey that generated over 40,000 photographs.  With great zeal and determination, he began collecting images in 1889 amidst devastating political legislation designed to “civilize Indians.”  Despite the best intentions, his work was a product of its time and was marked by the imaginative and emotional appeal of the heroic, adventurous, remote and mysterious.  Through the lens of his camera an idealized world took shape where, as an outsider and an artist, many of his own perceptions distorted his initial factual intentions.  Often staged and inaccurate, his beautiful photographs captivated his contemporaries and have shaped our understanding of the First Nations to this day.
 
The apparent transparency of the photographer’s lens tends to hide the eye behind the instrument.  The biased view one culture imposes on another is still a constant preoccupation among archeologists and historians.  The work of Curtis continues to appeal to a broad audience despite its flaws and must be viewed in historical perspective.  The same factors that caused Curtis to narrow his vision influence the selective focus of collectors and curators.  The visual compositions of the photographs, the artifacts collected and the stories told in this exhibition are a legacy that continues to be questioned and examined.

The Kent State University Museum is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.; and Sunday from noon to 4:45 p.m. It is closed on Monday and Tuesday.

The museum is located in Rockwell Hall on the corner of East Main and South Lincoln streets on the Kent Campus. Special guided tours are available for groups by reservation. Free on-site motor coach parking is available.

For additional information about the Kent State University Museum, go to http://dept.kent.edu/museum/general/general.html, or call (330) 672-3450.

                                                                                      # # #