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

Drawing Shadows to Stone: Photographing North Pacific Peoples, 1897-1902 (Exhibition)
birth: 1997 November 14
death: 1998 March 1
Exhibition. Opened November 14, 1997 and closed March 1, 1998. Located in Section 1A, Floor 1 in Gallery 77 at the American Museum of Natural History. Drawing Shadows to Stone: Photographing North Pacific Peoples, 1897-1902 featured more than 150 photographs—portraits and depictions of daily life—from the Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897-1902).
Summary
Drawing Shadows to Stone: Photographing North Pacific Peoples, 1897-1902 featured more than 150 photographs—portraits and depictions of daily life—from the Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897-1902) led by Franz Boas. The exhibition’s title came from the Yukaghir people of northeastern Siberia, who, upon witnessing the photographic process, called the camera “a three-legged device that draws a person’s shadow to stone.” The exhibition was organized by project director Laurel Kendall, curator in the Museum’s Department of Anthropology and co-organized by Barbara Mathé, research librarian at the Robert Goldwater Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Thomas Ross Miller, Ph.D. student at Columbia University’s Department of Anthropology. The exhibition was designed and executed by the Museum’s Department of Exhibition under the direction of director of exhibition, David Harvey, and was designed by Larry Langham (1).
Highlights (1):
*Artifacts, including a Yukaghir shaman’s robe from the far north of Siberia, ceremonial masks, and musical instruments
*Recordings from wax cylinders made on the expedition, including traditional songs, the drumming of Siberian shamans, Chukchi throat-rattling games, and Salish gambling songs
*Large-format camera similar to those used on the expedition, enabling visitors to see the challenges of taking photographs in the field
*Miniature models created by native artists, including a model of a maritime Koryak dwelling, which served as the basis for a miniature diorama for the Museum’s Hall of Asian Peoples
*Life group of a Salish woman tanning deer hide—based on a photograph taken on the expedition—juxtaposed to contemporary photographs illustrating the ongoing tanning tradition
*Resource center featuring a computerized database that included letters and other correspondence from members of the Jesup Expedition, images of artifacts from the Museum’s collection, and additional photographs not included in the exhibition, which could also be found on the Museum website while the exhibition was on view
Sections in the exhibition were (2):
*A Century of Survival
*Photography and Anthropology
*The Sound and the Journey
*Dwelling Places
*Whales and Spirits
*The Search for Physical Types
*Representing the Past/Reproducing Cultures
*Shamans
*Ceremonies
*Symbols for the Future
*Interactive Computer Center
*The exhibition was part of the Museum's Jesup Centenary Celebration, which also included a scholarly conference, a film festival, and other related programs (3, p. 10).
This is a condensed summary of the exhibition. For additional information, see Sources and/or Related Resources.