(Pic: Mosa Mohave photogravure c1903)Fascination exhibition of reproductions of historical photographs for Durban Art Gallery.
A fascinating exhibition comes to the Durban Art Gallery in May. Sacred Legacy features reproductions of historical photographs of the native people of North America by legendary photographer/ethnographer Edward Curtis whose life spanned both the old West and its final destruction in the twentieth century.
The result is a unique photographic record of an era and broad group of people whose representation is more usually rendered in American television and cinema. After seeing so many fictionalised images of America’s indigenous people, it is remarkable to see the people and landscape free of the biases of modernism.
The exhibition illustrates the broad and extraordinary diversity among the North American tribes and the haunting landscape they occupy. All of the works in this exhibition have been drawn from the personal collection of Christopher Cardozo, who owns the largest Curtis collection in the world and who is widely recognized as the leading global authority on Curtis and his work.
From his archive of over 4,000 vintage Curtis prints, Mr Cardozo has selected 60 of the most compelling and evocative images. As well as allowing art lovers a rare glimpse into an astounding world that no longer exists, the works are also a record of Curtis’ extraordinary artistry in portrait, landscape, still life and documentary photography, as well as his respect and love for the history of the people.
New technologies have allowed for the original Curtis photographs to be successfully reproduced and put on public display, with the help of the US State Department who commissioned the display. The prints are highly faithful to the look, feel, and dimensions of Curtis’ original prints and are all culled from the last decade of the 19th century until 1930.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience these legendary works.
Sacred Legacy runs at the Durban Art Gallery from May13 to June 28.
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