Native artist combines old, new for contemporary perspective

Courtesy photo Wilson
Courtesy photo Wilson

Native Diné (Navajo people's original name for themselves) photographer Will Wilson's Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange (CIPX) began as a contemporary response to the work of Edward Curtis -- a portrait photographer of the early 1900s who captured the types of images called to mind for many when they picture "The American Indian" or traditional Native Americans. In the six years since the project's inception, though, it has evolved into so much more.

"It's really about sharing and exchange around photography and around what it means to have a portrait made, especially with this process which is slow and old and hands-on, versus the ubiquitous selfie image that exists," Wilson says of the historic wet plate collodion process he uses, which was most popular during the latter half of the 19th century.

FAQ

‘In Conversation: Will Wilson and Edward Curtis’

WHEN — Through February

WHERE — Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville

COST — Free

INFO — 418-5700, crystalbridges.org

FYI — A pop-up portrait studio with Wilson will take place 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, followed by a panel discussion at 4 p.m. with Wilson and Native advocates and activists. Both events are free.

"One of the tag lines for the project is, 'What if Indians invented photography?' Would there be a different kind of set of protocols associated with it? Would it be a little more about reciprocity? And as a Native person," he goes on, "I think it's something that builds on this history of representation that hasn't always been the most beneficial or positive. So now as a practitioner, I have the opportunity to change that, and also reflect on it and share some of those ideas with people."

A focus exhibition on Wilson's process and his impact on critical thought about historical photographic portrayals of Native peoples is on display at Crystal Bridges Museum through February. "In Conversation: Will Wilson and Edward Curtis" complements the museum's current temporary exhibition "Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now," but also happens to be taking place during the 150th anniversary of both Curtis's birth and of the signing of the treaty between the U.S. government and the Navajo Nation that allowed the Navajos to return to their land.

"An essential problem contemporary Native artists have dealt with for a long time [is] somehow, even though it's contemporaneous with everything else that's going, [Native art is portrayed] as this ethnographic present that's somehow different from the present we all live in. It's just nice to see [Native art] treated as American art."

-- Jocelyn Murphy

[email protected]

NAN What's Up on 11/16/2018

Upcoming Events