Rhino: Readings- A Peoples Art History of the United States by Nicolas Lampert

In the Article A People’s Art History of the United States by Nicolas Lampert I was able to get a better understanding of the power a photographer had in a time that not everyone had access to cameras and technology.It was crucial for society to have artists such as Richard Throssel and Edward S. Curtis portraying scenes from the past and present. Curtis often fabricated Native American scenes conveying a nostalgic and vanishing feeling. While on the other hand Throssel as a Native American himself depicted present-day realities.

People relied on photographs to obtain knowledge and information from the present and past. Curtis was an outsider who created an illusion that Native people were untouched by modernization. However in the same notion he was able convey a sense of vanishment. He was created a false image of the Native American man in the 1900’s. He staged scenes by using wigs and costumes, even editing lighting and night skies. On the other hand Throssel depicted scenes of children in classrooms and reservation houses. Throssel ended up staging scenes that would merely depict everyday life only for lighting and affect purposes while working for the Indian Service. He spread awareness of disease and illness only to help his people become informed of better living situations.