Performing ArchiveMain MenuVisualizing the “Vanishing Race”: the photogravures of Edward S. CurtisFront Page for Visualizing the "Vanishing Race" pathCurtis' Image and Life: The Network of The North American Indian, Inc.An experiment with data visualization approach to understand and contextualize Curtis' images and his lifeMedia, Technology and MediationsCurtis's Technology, Relationships to Media and StyleContextualizing Curtis, The North American Indian, and Racethe collection of essays from the contributorsConsulting with Tribes as Part of Archive DevelopmentIntroduction to Consulting with Tribes by Ulia GosartContributing ArchivesInformation on how to participate in Performing ArchiveBrowsing the MediaA path of paths that allow users to cut through the collection in a variety of ways.Acknowledgements and Project InformationProject NetworkJacqueline Wernimontbce78f60db1628727fc0b905ad2512506798cac8David J. Kim18723eee6e5a79c8d8823c02b7b02cb2319ee0f1Stephan Schonberg23744229577bdc62e9a8c09d3492541be754e1efAmy Borsukc533a79d33d48cbf428e1160c2edc0b38c50db19Beatrice Schustera02047525b31e94c1336b01e99d7f4f758870500Heather Blackmored0a2bf9f2053b3c0505d20108092251fc75010bfUlia Gosart (Popova)67c984897e6357dbeeac6a13141c0defe5ef3403
Bear Bull
12018-03-16T21:06:59-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637294821part of Visualizing the "Vanishing Race"plain2018-03-16T21:06:59-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
Ken Gonzales-Day, Scripps College
Bear Bull was one of many Native translators and informants that worked on the project. In volume eighteen of the text, Curtis credits various Blackfoot informants for the volume but only includes one of them in the portfolio. His names was Kyaiyi-stamik or Bear Bull, and was also known as Sótai-na’, Rain Chief. According to Curtis, he was born in 1859 between the Battle River and the Saskatchewan River. On the portfolio plate title page Curtis captions the image as illustrating “an ancient Blackfoot method of arranging the hair ” and one sees a striking image of man photographed in profile, an elaborate topknot rising from the top of his forehead. The hair color of the top knot is much darker than the rest of his hair and suggests it might have been made from a wig or hairpiece common in so many of Curtis’ photographs or at the very least is undermined by his frequent use of a wig. Bear Bull was photographed in profile, in part to draw attention to the outline of the hair but also to capture a detailed outline of his facial features. It is a beautiful photograph, and like many of the profiles included in The North American Indian, this shot strives to address the ethnologists’ interest in Native American physiognomy. Though Curtis makes no direct reference to physiognomy in his text, it is clear, particularly when compared with the earlier highly pictorialist profiles found in several of the early volumes, that his interest in the profile is an ongoing theme, and there are many examples of models shot both frontally and in profile, in keeping with the ethnologists desire for objective observation.
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12018-03-16T21:12:55-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637Visualizing the “Vanishing Race”: the photogravures of Edward S. CurtisErik Loyer1Front Page for Visualizing the "Vanishing Race" pathsplash2018-03-16T21:12:55-07:00Erik Loyerf862727c4b34febd6a0341bffd27f168a35aa637
