Gorgeous Exhibits at the MAC!

On a gray and breezy Saturday afternoon during Thanksgiving break, I decided to spend the day walking around and enjoying beautiful artwork at our local museum, the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.  When I got there, I was immediately drawn to two special art exhibits held in the huge art gallery on the lower level.  The two exhibits are: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors: Gertrude Kasebier and Plateau Portraits: The Photographs of Richard Lewis.  The exhibits were set up side by side as the subject matter was similar: photos taken of Native American’s.

            These two exhibits both had amazing photographs being displayed.  The first set of photographs I saw was in the exhibit by Richard Lewis.  During the 1920s and 30s, Richard Lewis spent a lot of his time on Plateau Indian reservations making friends and taking photographs of elders, carefully recording their names and depicting them in everyday life.  His photographs are mostly taken outdoors, and are presented in documentary style, contrasted with those of the formal studio art photographs by Gertrude Käsebier.  These photos seem to have a sense of realness and rawness to them, as if they were made for someone’s personal photo album.  Richard also photographed them very intimately.   

Richard Lewis' photograph of an elder.

Another Richard Lewis' photograph

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Warriors troupe

The other exhibit on display was Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors by Gertrude Käsebier.  These specific photographs were taken during Buffalo Bill’s traveling Wild West shows, while the company was touring the country and performing for audiences.  Gertrude was one of the most influential art photographers of her time.  In 1898, she photographed Sioux Indian performers from Buffalo Bill’s troupe in her New York City studio.  The Sioux Indians in these pictures wore elaborate costumes and fancy headdresses that were beautiful.   These photos featured Native American’s in a more posed and costumed style.     

Gertrude Kasebier's photograph

            The artwork from both exhibits was absolutely exquisite.  They each had unique characteristics that made them eye-catching.  From Richard Lewis’ exhibit, I loved how he captured the subjects in a story-like manner.  Each person in the photographs told a different narrative in a more natural setting.  In Gertrude Käsebier’s exhibit, I loved how subjects were elegantly posed.  I could tell they were proud to share their Indian heritage when performing in the Buffalo Bill’s shows by wearing their costumes in the photographs.  Overall, these were fantastic exhibits.