18.3: Truth, Lies, and Power Dynamics in Historical Photography - Classroom Activity
- Page ID
- 248586
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As a small group, watch the brief (4 min.) video from the Smithsonian Magazine called "Edward Curtis: Photographing the American Indian." Pay particular attention to the alterations that the video shows Curtis made between generating some of the photographic negatives and developing the corresponding positive prints, especially in the context of what you learned in the longer (25 min.) video you watched for homework about "How Photographs Can Tell Lies."
Left: Edward S. Curtis, Girl and Jar--San Ildefonso, c. 1927. Published in Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian (1907-30) volume 17, plate 590.
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Edward S. Curtis Collection, [LC-USZ62-117709] Public Domain.
Right: Edward S. Curtis, Flint Smoker's Daughter [Piegan Woman], c. 1910. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Edward S. Curtis Collection, [LC-USZ62-112265] Public Domain.
Examining the Evidence and Imagining Backwards from Product to Process
In a small group, pick one of the photographs on this page or one of the photographs shown in the Smithsonian video, and consider the kinds of communication between photographer and sitter that would have likely occurred to produce this specific photograph. Refer to what you see (visual evidence) and what you know about the historical context in which the photo was taken to support each of your answers.
- Compile a list of at least 4 choices made by Curtis as the photographer when creating the portrait, beyond what the video narration shared. Consider the space in which the photograph is taken along with details about who the person is and how they are depicted here.
- In comparison, what are at least 2 choices you think were made by the sitter (subject) of the portrait? What would have been within their control, and what went beyond that?
- Finally, how would you describe the goal of these portraits? Who were these portraits for? What evidence (visual evidence you see, or evidence from the historical context you investigate) supports that assertion?
- And how does that compare to your own personal experiences sitting for a photographic portrait (even school photos count!)? What do those similarities and differences reveal about power dynamics in each situation?