Art has a rich history and plays an important role in society. Art is one of the oldest forms of expression and learning that is still relatable to modern society. Photography is one form of visual arts that fulfills its purpose by engaging with the target audience. Apart from appreciating the creative vision of artists, photo exhibition gives people an outlet to develop their client base and sell their work ( Hahn, 2019) . “Breaking the Silence” exhibition is one of the greatest exhibitions where various forms of photographs showing the struggle of the people towards freedom in the USA are shown.
Breaking the Silence exhibition is an online exhibition that was presented by the Peabody Museum which is one of the oldest ethnographic and archeological museums in the world. The museum has some of the finest collections of human cultural history found in different parts of the world. Peabody Museum is a museum gallery room that is also a member of the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture. Breaking the silence exhibition examines different photographs that were originally taken by Addis Studio in Washington D.C and McClees Gallery (Peabody Museaum, 2021). The content of the photos contains different scenes of a series of meetings that were going on between different delegates in the USA government. Most of the photographs in the exhibition were taken between the period 1858 and 1867 and this is the time when many Native Americans were struggling for recognition in the working government.
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The exhibits are mainly exploring the context of different visits that were done by the American Natives. From how the photographs are portrayed, the identities of the individuals who attended the meetings can be seen. The application of this type of photography in fashioning an iconic image of the Native Americans has been in existence for a long time ( Hargreaves, 2016) . An example of a photograph in this online exhibition is the one known as “Portrait of Dakotan (Sioux) Indians in Washington DC.”
Fig 1: Portrait of Dakotan (Sioux) Indians in Washington DC.
Even though the photograph was taken many years ago, the quality is still great and it can be seen clearly. The type of print that was used for this photograph and others in the exhibition was albumen. Albumen is a special type of photography production that has existed since 1847 and was widely used in the 19th and early 20th Centuries ( Hahn, 2019) . The albumen technique was first used by Louis Desire Evrard and since then, the method has been widely using for commercial purposes ( Haworth-Booth, & McCauley, 2019) . The method produces photograph prints on a paper base from negative. In photography, a negative is an image on a sheet or strip of transparent plastic film where the darkest areas of the photograph will appear lightest and the lightest areas appearing brightest.
From the Portrait of Dakotan (Sioux) Indians in Washington DC in this exhibition, light play an important role. For example, the photograph is taken from a close range where delegates are the point of interest. These are ground close-up photographs with enough lights for illumination ( Hahn, 2019) . Light plays an important role in the photographs in this exhibition, for example, it is the light that makes it possible for the objects to be seen. With the help of lights, we can see the different delegates in a meeting. In the Portrait of Dakotan (Sioux) Indians in Washington DC, we can see the background of the room clearly and the delegates can also be identified including their facial expressions and what they are wearing.
Apart from the aesthetic beauty, the subject matter of the photographs in this exhibition is very important. The photographs show an attempt to bring peace and co-existence in the United States of America ( Newhall, 2016) . This is a country with many people from different parts of the world and due to this; conflicts were bound to take place. People are uniquely different and this means that people have different beliefs and ideologies that may go against each other ( Haworth-Booth, & McCauley, 2019) . In the US, Native American life had changed dramatically. This was due to increased pressure from the Anglo movement towards the Western side of America (Peabody Museaum, 2021). Again, the culture of the Native Americans was severely disrupted by many ethnic groups that were visiting their areas ( Hargreaves, 2016) . Violent clashes erupted between the Native Americans and the Anglo settlers who were increasing in number and trying to acquire some resources.
To help in solving the conflicts and problems that were arising day by day, many tribes had to send their delegations to Washington D.C. this is where the photographs were taken, and it indicates that the government was trying to be peace between different tribes by the use of official diplomatic delegations (Peabody Museaum, 2021). The photographs such as the Portrait of Dakotan (Sioux) Indians in Washington DC show delegates when conducting meetings with government officials on how peace could be restored.
Lastly, the exhibition is very important in all aspects. It shows a great quality of photographs that were printed by the use of albumen techniques. Light plays an important enabling the objects to be clearly seen and the fine texture of the image can also be felt. The form of the images in 2-dimensions and a shallow depth of field enable the audience to view the delegates. The subject of the photographs is also important since it shows an attempt to restore peace by the use of a diplomatic delegation meeting.
References
Hahn, C. Y. (2019). Exhibition as Archive: Beaumont Newhall, Photography 1839–1937, and the Museum of Modern Art. Visual Resources , 18 (2), 145-152. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01973760290011806
Hargreaves, R. (2016). The Beautiful and the Damned: The Creation of Identity in Nineteenth Century Photography. https://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/id/eprint/1684/
Haworth-Booth, M., & McCauley, A. (2019). The museum & the photograph: collecting photography at the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1853-1900 . Williamstown, Massachusetts: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. http://www.openbibart.fr/item/display/10068/940219
Newhall, B. (2016). The history of photography (p. 128). New York: Museum of modern art. http://www.photographydealers.com/wp-content/uploads/Newsletters/History-of-Photograph-A-Message-from-Santa-Fe-April-17-2020.pdf
Peabody Museaum (2021): Breaking the Silence: Nineteenth-Century Indian Delegations in Washington, D.C. https://www.peabody.harvard.edu/node/2254
