A Pyramid Lake Paviotso 1924

Editor: This is Edward Curtis's photogravure, "A Pyramid Lake Paviotso." The sepia tone and tight framing make it an intense portrait. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Curtis’s photographs were published as objective records, but we must ask, for whom? Were they really objective? Consider the social context: these images were made during a period of intense assimilation policies. Editor: So, the image reinforces a power dynamic? Curator: Exactly. Curtis was, consciously or unconsciously, participating in constructing a specific narrative about Native Americans for a predominantly white audience. It encouraged a certain view. Editor: I see what you mean. It makes me question the photograph’s role. Curator: Indeed. It prompts us to think critically about the power of images and the historical forces that shape them.