Native American portraits at Mennello Museum highlight work of Navajo photographer – Orlando Sentinel
, 2022-12-14 05:43:08,
exhibition in Mennillo Museum of American Art It aims to fill a gap in history and representation, and to spark conversation through works of photography.
Tintype photographs taken by Will Wilson in the past decade are displayed alongside historical photographs by Edward Curtis, who documented Native Americans a century ago as he traveled across North America. Wilson, a Denneh (Navajo) photographer, understands that Curtis created a comprehensive archive of Indigenous people but left a complex legacy by creating scenes and providing props for those he photographed.
A quote from Wilson on one of the museum’s paintings reads “Now contemporary artists want to reclaim that power and create archives for who they believe themselves to be”.
He joined the ongoing Indigenous photographic exchange, Wilson’s project dedicated to giving his subjects personal agency and creating new conversations that “undo Curtis’ work” and emphasize “the exchange about problematic documentation.”
“A conversation looking back at Edward Curtis provides a bridge to the past, and then we see the living, breathing art and culture of now,” said Shannon Fitzgerald, executive director of the Mennillo Museum. In Will Wilson’s pictures,…
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