Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Assignment 5

Assignment 5

Name_______________________________________
South Seattle Community College
Fall Quarter 2008
ART 170
Randy Nelson
Assignment #5
Edward and Asahel Curtis and Early Pacific Northwest Photographers
Due Tuesday, October 29th 2008

View "Different Lenses: The Photography of Edward and Asahel Curtis" TR652.D54 1996 [VHS]

1. How did Asahel Curtis make his living as a photographer?
2. What was Edward Curtis's obsession?
3. What was realistic about the photography of Edward and Asahel Curtis.
Compare them.
4. How did art characterize their approaches to photography.
Compare the 2.

5. Find another pioneering Washington State
photographer. Write a paragraph or two describing their work. Some possibilities: Frank Matsura, Anders Beer Wilse, Imogen Cunningham, William Boyd, and Darius Kinsey.

1 comment:

Jacky said...

I had troubles recieving the link to this blog. Please excuse my tardiness.

1.How did Asahel Curtis make his living as a photographer? He was a commercial photographer. He was a booster (economic) of better roads.
2. What was Edward Curtis's obsession? His work on Native Americans was his main work. There was text included with most of his photos. It was much more artistic and he clearly focused on the individuals. He dressed up his subjects, which is where he got criticism. He did his best to preserve what the Native Americans ideally would have looked like.
3. What was realistic about the photography of Edward and Asahel Curtis.
Edward took realistic photographs documenting how Native American Indians ideally would have looked. Asahel took very realistic photographs for Washington’s cropland and all related nature including historic events, population, and the early cities of Washington state.
4. How did art characterize their approaches to photography.
Edward approached photography at an art angle by capturing the tradition and look of the native people. Asahel took photography into an art form by making nature look beautiful instead of just a plain solid object.
5. Find another pioneering Washington State
photographer. Write a paragraph or two describing their work.
Frank Matsura moved from Japan to America and took a few low-paying jobs in Conconully, Washington. He then began documenting (taking photographs) of every aspect of the everyday lives of the people in the Okanogan area. He photographed farming, construction, special occasions/celebrations, and even the Conconully Dam. Now over 1,800 of his photographs are being kept safe at Okanogan County Historical Society as well as WSU (Washington State University).