American Museum of Natural History Research Library
author: American Museum of Natural History

City of Light (Exhibition)
birth: 1986 September 24
death: 1987 June 1
Exhibition. Opened in September 24, 1986 and closed June 1, 1987. Located on Floor 2 in the Akeley Gallery at the American Museum of Natural History. "City of Light" was a photographic exhibition depicting the rituals associated with life in Benares, India.
Summary
"City of Light" was a photographic exhibition depicting the rituals associated with life in Benares, India. The photographs were taken by Christopher James and Jane Tuckerman, both then instructors at Harvard, and by the documentary filmmakers Robert Gardner and Ned Johnston. They worked closely with Akos Oster, an anthropologist and filmmaker then working at the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts at Harvard. The photographs in Benares, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the world, reflected three primary themes: sacred rituals, daily work activities, and the transcendent power of death. An Arthur Ross Exhibit of the Month, the photographs were on view in the Akeley Gallery of the American Museum of Natural History from September 24, 1986 through June 1, 1987.