Response: A People's Art History of the United States

This reading really opened my eyes in terms of the relationship and context between a photographer and their work back in the day. Because photography is generally not my medium of choice I have never looked at old photographs and considered the background of the artist or the way it was documented. Edward Curtis’s photographs were used to exploit Native American peoples in order to cash in on their poverty and build his folio. We now have an extensive record of Natives peoples although we see the images through Curtis’s reality bending lens which was invasive, his intentions were selfish and left lasting negative stereotypes of the Native people.

Richard Throssel's work in contrast had permission, and was honest in its portrayal of the Native people and their struggles including modernization and poverty. His work was dedicated to helping his people through his medium, photography. However Throssel’s work wasn’t nearly recognized compared to Curtis who had wealthy clientele paying to see stoic and false representations of Native Americans. However we have to recognize that both artists works have their own merits and “invites contemporary audiences to interrogate the past and the people who documented it with a more critical eye".