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- An exhibit like 
this with the variety

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of print processes, 
print mediums,

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the depth of the work, 
all the ephemera,

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the post cards, milk 
cards correspondence,

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exhibition like 
this had probably

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only been seen 10 
times in the last

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100 years in the United States.

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Even Edward Curtis, 
when he did exhibitions,

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didn't show anywhere 
near the variety

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of what you're seeing here.

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He typically only showed 
his platinum prints

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and/or his photo gravures.

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So, it's a really 
exceptional exhibit,

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and I'm thrilled with my staff

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back in St. Paul, Minneapolis, 
who helped put it together

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and then of course the gang here 
at the Trout for putting it up.

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So, when I think, again,

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thinking from 30,000 feet 
as the new saying goes,

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what do I think 
about with Curtis?

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The single thing that to me most

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coalesces who he was 
and what he was doing

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is this quote from 1900.

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He's just beginning the project,

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he's just gotten the idea

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of creating a comprehensive 
permanent record

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of Native American cultures, 
Native American people.

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And he writes to a 
colleague and friend of his,

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"It's such a big dream.

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"I can't see it all."

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And just to begin with 
what an incredible

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gift that would be to have 
a sense of life mission,

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to have a dream that's so big

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you can't even understand it.

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And it was very 
perceptive of him

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because he really had no idea 
what he was getting into,

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the magnitude, the sacrifices, 
the length of time.

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So also as I try and understand

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this massive body 
of work that is

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two and a half million 
words in the final text,

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transcriptions of 
language and music,

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sound recordings, and of 
course a lot of photographs.

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I try to understand 
that the thing

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that comes up to me really 
is beauty, heart and spirit.

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If I try to tell you 
what are the three

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underlying components, 
key components

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of Curtis' work, it's 
beauty, heart and spirit,

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which to me form a legacy,

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and in this case 
a sacred legacy.

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And here he is.

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On the left is a self-portrait 
when Curtis was about 30.

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And on the right is 
a photograph of him

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in British Columbia in 
front a baleen whale

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when he was approximately 40, 
in full field gear.

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So he obviously was 
a very handsome man.

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Most people don't realize that 
it was very unusual at the time,

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he was six feet one, 
piercing blue eyes,

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amazing charisma, 
and amazing willpower.

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One of the stories I'll tell you 
today was when Curtis went to,

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Curtis became great friends 
with Teddy Roosevelt.

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So here you have 
this man who grew up

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in abject poverty to 
age five in Wisconsin,

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move to Minnesota, 
abject poverty.

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When he was 17 or 18, 
he moved to the Seattle area.

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And by the time he was 23 or 4,

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he had bought half interest

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in a small struggling 
photo studio.

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Seattle, it's important 
to understand,

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was an incredible boom town.

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Other than San Francisco, 
there was nothing west

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of the Rockies that was 
comparable to Seattle.

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It was the gateway to the Yukon 
and we had a gold rush, right?

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So it was an incredibly 
wealthy, powerful community.

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But Curtis established 
that position there.

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And he won a photo contest 
photographing children.

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Teddy Roosevelt saw this 
photograph in 1902 or 1903,

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invited Curtis to come 
and photograph his family.

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So within a few years 
of pulling himself,

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in the south and his extended 
family, out of abject poverty,

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all of a sudden he's hanging out

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with the president 
of the United States.

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Here's a young man with 
a sixth-grade education

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in a one-room schoolhouse, 
primarily self-educated,

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then all of a sudden he's

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not only meeting 
with Teddy Roosevelt

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but Roosevelt was very 
enamored of Curtis,

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so they became great 
personal friends.

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So Curtis would literally go 
out and spend the weekends

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at the Roosevelt family compound

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on Oyster Bay at Long Island 
and hang out with the family

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and make more photographs 
of the family.

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I mean if he did nothing else,

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that alone to have grown 
up in abject poverty

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in rural Wisconsin, Minnesota,

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and by the time he's 
in his very early 30s

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being great friends with the 
president of the United States

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is pretty amazing, 
but there is much more.

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So when he had the big dream 
that he couldn't see it all,

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this was the primary 
component of it.

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This is a set of rare books

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that comprised 20 volumes, 
20 portfolios,

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two and a half million words

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of finished, edited, 
significantly edited

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by a major anthropologist, 
text, 2,200 photographs,

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transcriptions of 
language and music,

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comparative language studies.

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So he would compare 
Navajo and Apache

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or Cherokee and Absaroak.

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It is a tour de force.

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I don't know of anything 
like it in history

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that was ever created.

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And the fact it was 
created primarily

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by one human being with 
no government existence 
is really extraordinary.

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There certainly are 
some sets of rare books

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that have been created

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other places that 
had significant

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government support, 
that were big.

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But again nothing 
compares to this

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in terms of the 
quality of the work,

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the beauty of the work.

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As you can see 
everything was hand-done.

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These are all beautiful 
handmade papers

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from India, Japan or Holland.

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Everything was hand printed, 
all the 2,200 photographs

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many of which you see 
on the gallery here

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today are called photo gravures.

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The basketry over here 
is one good example.

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Those are basically 
photographic engravings.

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So there were 2,200 
photographic engravings

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in each of the close to 250 
sets that were completed.

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I mean the numbers again 
are just staggering.

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So Curtis tried to get 
this going for five years

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and he realized what an 
immense project it really was.

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It's one thing that you 
have a vision you can't see,

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but when you start 
actualizing it,

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you understand 
how big, how huge,

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how complicated, how expensive 
it is. That's the Morgan quote.

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So 1905 in December, 
Curtis, excuse me,

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Teddy Roosevelt gives Curtis 
a letter of introduction

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to meet J.P. Morgan, and 
Morgan at the time, of course,

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was one of if not the wealthiest 
human beings in the world.

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He was also a major, 
major art collector

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and a really major bibliophile.

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The collection at the 
Morgan Library, New York

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today is astounding.

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So he goes in to 
meet with Morgan

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and tells him about 
his great dream.

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And Morgan listens very intently

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and Morgan's secretary of 25 
years is there in the meeting.

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And Morgan says no, 
not interested, not 
going to back you.

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And for most mere mortals,

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if J.P. Morgan, in 
his 18-foot ceiling,

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wood paneled, oriental 
carpeted office said, "No,"

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that was it, 
you turned on your heels,

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and walked out the door.

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Curtis asked Mr. Morgan 
if he would at least

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do him the courtesy of 
looking at the photographs.

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Morgan had not seen 
the photographs,

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yet he just turned the vision.

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Morgan looked at 10 or 15 
of Curtis' 20 photographs.

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According to Morgan's secretary

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changed his mind for only 
the second time in 25 years

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of what was essentially 
a business decision.

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So, it was a big deal.

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I'm going to show you examples

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of the different mediums 
in which Curtis worked.

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And examples, 
not the same images,

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but all these mediums are here

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in the exhibit between 
the two floors.

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This is something 
called a cyanotype,

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and virtually no people 
have seen Curtis cyanotypes.

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This is something that 
he did in the field

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and were typically thrown away.

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So in my 40 plus 
years of collecting,

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I've only been able to 
acquire about 20 of these.

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They're particularly 
near and dear to my heart,

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because I would bet 
you dollars to donuts

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that Curtis handled 
these prints,

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the cyanotypes, 
because this was done

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in the field 
perhaps the same day

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but certainly 
within a day or two

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of having made the negative.

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And this is basically 
his Polaroid.

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This was a way he could see 
what he had in the negative

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and make a decision 
whether he needed

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to reshoot the negative,

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get the white a 
little different,

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the composition a 
little different.

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So cyanotype, this would've been

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the first thing Curtis 
created after the negative.

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These are silver prints, 
so when Curtis was in the field

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which would typically 
be for months at a time,

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00:10:06,366 --> 00:10:09,100
he would come back to 
his studio in Seattle

193
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and look at all the cyanotypes

194
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and look at the 
negatives and decide

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this one we're going 
to go further with,

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00:10:14,733 --> 00:10:17,033
we're going to make more 
prints and see what we have.

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00:10:17,133 --> 00:10:19,666
That one's no good and we're 
going to throw it aside.

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00:10:19,766 --> 00:10:24,633
So Curtis did somewhere 
between 40 and 50,000 negatives

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00:10:24,733 --> 00:10:27,533
and edited that down to 2,200.

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00:10:27,633 --> 00:10:29,366
So anything that you see

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00:10:29,466 --> 00:10:32,233
that were in the 
books and portfolios

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or anything that you see, 
really anything here,

203
00:10:35,766 --> 00:10:37,400
is highly, highly edited.

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There were over 
10, 15 photographs

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00:10:40,766 --> 00:10:42,666
that were discarded to get down

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00:10:42,766 --> 00:10:45,600
to the ones that you 
see here or in the book.

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00:10:45,700 --> 00:10:49,833
So this is just a simple 
untoned silver print.

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00:10:49,933 --> 00:10:52,133
So he looked at the cyanotype,

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00:10:52,233 --> 00:10:54,466
but the cyanotypes don't have

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great subtlety 
oftentimes or detail,

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whereas the silver prints do.

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00:10:59,900 --> 00:11:02,833
And this would've 
been done as soon

213
00:11:02,933 --> 00:11:05,100
as he got back into the studio.

214
00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,100
Then in terms of prints 
that he would've offered

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00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,100
for sale or for exhibition,

216
00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,133
this is a really 
important process.

217
00:11:13,233 --> 00:11:16,866
It's called gold toned 
printing out paper.

218
00:11:16,966 --> 00:11:19,366
So it's photographic paper

219
00:11:19,466 --> 00:11:23,400
but it was literally 
toned with a gold solution

220
00:11:23,500 --> 00:11:25,966
and other chemicals to 
give it that beautiful

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00:11:26,066 --> 00:11:28,300
warm sepia which is the hallmark

222
00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,566
of essentially all 
finished Curtis prints.

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And this is historically,

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00:11:35,166 --> 00:11:37,500
probably Curtis' most 
important photograph.

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It was done in the summer of 
1900 as I mentioned earlier.

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He had this watershed experience 
and he had this big dream

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that was started, 
this two weeks in the field.

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Then this is his key 
image from that time.

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00:11:51,300 --> 00:11:55,133
This is Curtis' most 
valuable photograph

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00:11:55,233 --> 00:11:57,800
and certainly one of 
his most important.

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00:11:57,900 --> 00:12:01,333
Most of you will 
recognize this is Geronimo.

232
00:12:01,433 --> 00:12:04,900
And Geronimo is photographed 
by Curtis in 1905,

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the same year Roosevelt 
wrote the letter

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of introduction to J.P. Morgan,

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00:12:08,933 --> 00:12:11,400
and this happens to 
be a platinum print.

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00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,200
This is called the border print.

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So the border that 
you see around that

238
00:12:16,733 --> 00:12:19,933
which today people 
would do with overmats

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Curtis actually did 
in the dark room.

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He exposed the two borders there

241
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to more light after he 
had exposed the negative

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and that created those borders

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00:12:32,333 --> 00:12:35,233
an aesthetic decision 
that he made.

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00:12:37,733 --> 00:12:39,833
Here is the Kanatika Girl.

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00:12:39,933 --> 00:12:42,633
And this is one, 
this is a photo gravure,

246
00:12:42,733 --> 00:12:46,366
the most common process 
Curtis worked in.

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00:12:46,466 --> 00:12:48,566
But I like to use 
it to illustrate

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00:12:48,666 --> 00:12:50,666
what I think is a very, 
very, very important

249
00:12:50,766 --> 00:12:53,533
critical point for Curtis' work.

250
00:12:53,633 --> 00:12:57,866
This work was a 
co-created body of work.

251
00:12:57,966 --> 00:12:59,500
This was not Edward Curtis

252
00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,633
going out and 
taking photographs.

253
00:13:02,733 --> 00:13:04,533
This was Edward Curtis working

254
00:13:04,633 --> 00:13:08,966
with Native people to make 
beautiful, compelling images.

255
00:13:09,066 --> 00:13:10,733
So with this young woman,

256
00:13:10,833 --> 00:13:15,733
to me you see a sense of 
intimacy, authenticity,

257
00:13:15,833 --> 00:13:18,866
openness, vulnerability.

258
00:13:18,966 --> 00:13:23,866
In today's parlance, 
she was very, very present.

259
00:13:23,966 --> 00:13:27,100
And Curtis was good 
enough technician,

260
00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:30,633
had good enough vision to 
be able to capture that

261
00:13:30,733 --> 00:13:34,166
and then translate 
it into a photograph.

262
00:13:34,266 --> 00:13:35,866
And that's another 
really important thing

263
00:13:35,966 --> 00:13:37,366
to think about 
when you're looking

264
00:13:37,466 --> 00:13:39,900
at Curtis' or any 
photographer's work.

265
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,900
Are you looking at the image

266
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,266
which could be digital, 
it could be a platinum print,

267
00:13:45,366 --> 00:13:46,666
it could be a photo gravure?

268
00:13:46,766 --> 00:13:49,666
Or are you looking 
at the actual object,

269
00:13:49,766 --> 00:13:52,266
the platinum print, 
the photo gravure?

270
00:13:52,366 --> 00:13:55,633
And another thing that's 
quite extraordinary

271
00:13:55,733 --> 00:13:58,300
about Curtis is he had a gift

272
00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,333
for making beautiful objects.

273
00:14:01,433 --> 00:14:02,866
Some of them are so strong.

274
00:14:02,966 --> 00:14:06,466
Well, again, the fact that 
all of us are here today

275
00:14:06,566 --> 00:14:10,866
112 years after this 
negative was made

276
00:14:10,966 --> 00:14:12,233
still looking at it

277
00:14:12,333 --> 00:14:14,700
and generally admiring 
it and oftentimes

278
00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:16,400
we get very moved by it

279
00:14:16,500 --> 00:14:19,600
really speaks to the fact 
that Curtis not only knew

280
00:14:19,700 --> 00:14:22,000
how to make great 
compelling images,

281
00:14:22,100 --> 00:14:24,033
but also could make 
beautiful objects,

282
00:14:24,133 --> 00:14:25,966
and it's what I call objects

283
00:14:26,066 --> 00:14:28,466
imbued with spirit 
because some of them

284
00:14:28,566 --> 00:14:30,833
touch people so deeply.

285
00:14:30,933 --> 00:14:35,833
We've sent exhibitions to 
40 countries and we have--

286
00:14:35,933 --> 00:14:39,533
Every opening I've gone 
to from Peru to Paris

287
00:14:39,633 --> 00:14:45,700
to Sweden to South Africa,

288
00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,666
I've seen people moved to tears.

289
00:14:48,766 --> 00:14:50,500
Italy probably more 
than any place else,

290
00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:52,966
but we would expect that 
of the Italians, right,

291
00:14:53,066 --> 00:14:55,366
that they're going to be 
very emotional about it.

292
00:14:59,366 --> 00:15:04,666
Again, regardless of 
age, race, gender,

293
00:15:04,766 --> 00:15:09,533
economic status, 
any criteria I can think of

294
00:15:09,633 --> 00:15:12,666
that you'd want to 
define human beings by,

295
00:15:12,766 --> 00:15:15,866
it doesn't matter, young or old.

296
00:15:15,966 --> 00:15:18,100
I've seen six and 
eight-year-old children

297
00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:20,066
incredibly moved by this work,

298
00:15:20,166 --> 00:15:23,233
and I've seen, well, 
my oldest client

299
00:15:23,333 --> 00:15:25,566
is 90 and still collecting.

300
00:15:25,666 --> 00:15:29,800
So it is just the 
universality of his work

301
00:15:29,900 --> 00:15:32,266
is one of the things 
I'm addressing here.

302
00:15:32,366 --> 00:15:36,866
It's because he captured 
the essence of things.

303
00:15:38,233 --> 00:15:43,400
He made many, many very 
compelling artistic photographs,

304
00:15:43,500 --> 00:15:45,300
and that's another 
really important thing

305
00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:47,433
to understand with Curtis.

306
00:15:47,533 --> 00:15:49,966
Was he a photographer 
or an ethnographer?

307
00:15:51,966 --> 00:15:54,466
He was both very, very clearly.

308
00:15:54,566 --> 00:15:56,900
And with his photographic work,

309
00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,833
it was mostly about 
creating works of art.

310
00:16:00,933 --> 00:16:02,566
He was very clear about this,

311
00:16:02,666 --> 00:16:06,466
in the very beginning, 
the introduction to volume one

312
00:16:06,566 --> 00:16:08,466
of that 20 volume, 20 portfolio

313
00:16:08,566 --> 00:16:12,466
set of works that we saw in 
the second or third slide.

314
00:16:12,566 --> 00:16:18,100
He says, "I am not 
creating documents.

315
00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:22,566
"I am endeavoring to 
create works of art."

316
00:16:22,666 --> 00:16:26,733
And he is obviously 
sometimes criticized

317
00:16:26,833 --> 00:16:30,666
because people think he either 
exploited the Native people

318
00:16:30,766 --> 00:16:34,066
or he wasn't 
ethnographically accurate.

319
00:16:34,166 --> 00:16:37,400
And if you're looking for 
ethnographic accuracy,

320
00:16:37,500 --> 00:16:41,066
you go and look at the two 
and a half million words

321
00:16:41,166 --> 00:16:45,433
of language, transcriptions 
of language and music,

322
00:16:45,533 --> 00:16:47,433
the incredible ethnographic text

323
00:16:47,533 --> 00:16:50,666
about the individuals, 
about their tribal groups,

324
00:16:50,766 --> 00:16:52,200
about their life ways,

325
00:16:52,300 --> 00:16:55,466
and this immense 
treasure of information,

326
00:16:55,566 --> 00:16:58,766
it is ethnographically right on.

327
00:16:58,866 --> 00:17:00,666
He in fact he had to go in front

328
00:17:00,766 --> 00:17:03,766
of a blue-ribbon committee 
at the Smithsonian

329
00:17:03,866 --> 00:17:06,166
before Morgan would 
cut the first check.

330
00:17:06,266 --> 00:17:09,066
So Curtis was seriously vetted

331
00:17:09,166 --> 00:17:12,700
and that committee was 
not very positively

332
00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,066
disposed towards Curtis 
because here is this guy

333
00:17:15,166 --> 00:17:16,933
with this sixth-grade education

334
00:17:17,033 --> 00:17:19,200
and he's getting 
what seem to people

335
00:17:19,300 --> 00:17:21,633
a king's ransom to 
do this project,

336
00:17:21,733 --> 00:17:24,433
and they weren't, 
all these Easterners

337
00:17:24,533 --> 00:17:29,233
with the PhDs and they've been 
heads of different committees

338
00:17:29,333 --> 00:17:31,666
and different 
institutions for years.

339
00:17:31,766 --> 00:17:33,300
They're not getting anything

340
00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:35,733
and this up start 
from the Midwest

341
00:17:35,833 --> 00:17:37,566
is getting all this money.

342
00:17:37,666 --> 00:17:42,066
So it was not an easy audience,

343
00:17:42,166 --> 00:17:44,200
and again Curtis passed 
with flying colors,

344
00:17:44,300 --> 00:17:46,333
but that was the written work.

345
00:17:46,433 --> 00:17:50,366
The visual work, again, is 
intended to be artistic work.

346
00:17:55,366 --> 00:17:57,600
Let me come back to this slide.

347
00:17:57,700 --> 00:18:01,333
So the important 
anecdote that this

348
00:18:01,433 --> 00:18:05,666
brings to my mind 
is Isabella Yande,

349
00:18:05,766 --> 00:18:09,400
who is a surrealist, 
a magic realist writer,

350
00:18:09,500 --> 00:18:12,166
internationally known, 
award-winning.

351
00:18:12,266 --> 00:18:15,600
She's been interviewed by 
the CBC a few years ago,

352
00:18:15,700 --> 00:18:19,533
and I have been trying 
to communicate to people

353
00:18:19,633 --> 00:18:21,966
what the difference 
was with Curtis

354
00:18:22,066 --> 00:18:26,733
trying to do things 
artistically versus

355
00:18:26,833 --> 00:18:30,766
factually versus 
ethnographically 
with the images.

356
00:18:30,866 --> 00:18:32,933
They summed it up 
so beautifully.

357
00:18:33,033 --> 00:18:36,300
The interviewer said to Isabel,

358
00:18:38,833 --> 00:18:41,266
excuse me, you're 
now an award-inning,

359
00:18:41,366 --> 00:18:42,966
magical realist writer.

360
00:18:43,066 --> 00:18:45,566
Magical realism has 
nothing to do with reality

361
00:18:45,666 --> 00:18:48,333
as most of us experience 
or know it, right?

362
00:18:49,333 --> 00:18:52,900
And she said but you were 
a journalist for 20 years,

363
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,066
so that must have been a 
very hard transition for you

364
00:18:56,166 --> 00:18:59,566
to go from journalism, 
which is all about

365
00:18:59,666 --> 00:19:02,866
independently verifiable facts,

366
00:19:02,966 --> 00:19:06,266
to magical realism which has 
nothing to do with the facts.

367
00:19:06,366 --> 00:19:08,666
And Yande said, "Yes, uh-huh."

368
00:19:08,766 --> 00:19:10,800
And Keroloff thought 
about, the interviewer

369
00:19:10,900 --> 00:19:14,700
thought about for 
a moment and said,

370
00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:17,466
that's almost like you're 
trying to tell people

371
00:19:17,566 --> 00:19:21,266
a deeper truth than the 
facts would allow you.

372
00:19:21,366 --> 00:19:24,333
So it's like poetry, 
it's like any great art.

373
00:19:24,433 --> 00:19:27,700
So I'm showing you this, 
the original, one of the 
Kanatika girl.

374
00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:29,400
This is a finished print.

375
00:19:29,500 --> 00:19:33,566
This is how Curtis 
decided to interpret

376
00:19:33,666 --> 00:19:35,766
and present his negative.

377
00:19:37,066 --> 00:19:39,233
This was the same negative

378
00:19:39,333 --> 00:19:41,933
before Curtis did any 
of his magic to it.

379
00:19:42,033 --> 00:19:45,933
It's cropped differently, 
it's black and white.

380
00:19:46,033 --> 00:19:50,366
It's a lovely image, but in 
my opinion it does not sing.

381
00:19:50,466 --> 00:19:54,500
It's not something that would 
be etched in your memory.

382
00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:58,566
And then we go to this.

383
00:19:58,666 --> 00:20:01,933
So you see in the 
lower left-hand side,

384
00:20:02,033 --> 00:20:05,400
the unedited or unchanged.

385
00:20:05,500 --> 00:20:07,933
You see on the lower right 
Curtis' finished print,

386
00:20:08,033 --> 00:20:10,300
and then you see 
to other negatives

387
00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:12,766
that he would've created 
in that same session

388
00:20:12,866 --> 00:20:14,633
on that same day.

389
00:20:14,733 --> 00:20:17,000
And this is very typical of him.

390
00:20:17,100 --> 00:20:20,066
He would find something that 
he knew was interesting.

391
00:20:20,166 --> 00:20:23,900
He was working with a 
60-pound camera and tripod.

392
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:25,566
It had a black cloth,

393
00:20:25,666 --> 00:20:28,266
and he could only 
see the ground glass

394
00:20:28,366 --> 00:20:31,133
which took the image upside down

395
00:20:31,233 --> 00:20:33,066
and reversed it left to right.

396
00:20:33,166 --> 00:20:36,600
And he had to be 
able to visualize

397
00:20:36,700 --> 00:20:38,866
what the finished 
image would look like

398
00:20:38,966 --> 00:20:40,933
while he's under a black cloth,

399
00:20:41,033 --> 00:20:44,066
what this image could 
look like, I should say

400
00:20:44,166 --> 00:20:48,200
when you reversed it, 
turned it upside down,

401
00:20:48,300 --> 00:20:50,266
and then did all the 
other things he did.

402
00:20:50,366 --> 00:20:52,133
So it's really 
quite extraordinary.

403
00:20:53,700 --> 00:20:56,533
Curtis also did a very 
small body of work

404
00:20:56,633 --> 00:20:58,533
which I just call 
experimental work.

405
00:20:58,633 --> 00:21:00,766
He took a photograph.

406
00:21:00,866 --> 00:21:05,833
You can see on the 
left-hand side of the image,

407
00:21:05,933 --> 00:21:07,566
there's some pencil marks.

408
00:21:07,666 --> 00:21:10,333
You can also see them a couple 
of other places in the image.

409
00:21:10,433 --> 00:21:13,700
So Curtis would 
outline the image.

410
00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,733
He would project it 
on to canvas or paper,

411
00:21:17,833 --> 00:21:19,766
trace some of the outline,

412
00:21:19,866 --> 00:21:22,666
and then take it 
down and then paint

413
00:21:22,766 --> 00:21:25,266
different chemistry 
and different colors

414
00:21:25,366 --> 00:21:27,333
that would then get exposed.

415
00:21:28,366 --> 00:21:30,300
And very, very 
small body of work.

416
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:31,700
I've only been able to find

417
00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,266
10 or 12 of these 
in four decades.

418
00:21:34,366 --> 00:21:36,666
Here's another piece 
of experimental work.

419
00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:42,466
And then in the 
volumes and portfolios,

420
00:21:45,166 --> 00:21:48,166
not only was he 
creating these books

421
00:21:48,266 --> 00:21:52,100
that today cost 
$35 million to create.

422
00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,833
Again, I mean, it's 
just staggering

423
00:21:54,933 --> 00:21:59,366
the complexity 
and the commitment

424
00:21:59,466 --> 00:22:01,366
that it took to create this.

425
00:22:01,466 --> 00:22:03,333
Most people would've 
been very happy

426
00:22:03,433 --> 00:22:04,733
if they could do all that

427
00:22:04,833 --> 00:22:07,333
and create sepia 
colored photo gravures.

428
00:22:07,433 --> 00:22:10,833
Curtis decided he wanted 
to do hand-colored photo 
gravures as well.

429
00:22:10,933 --> 00:22:13,333
So in the engraving 
company in Boston

430
00:22:13,433 --> 00:22:15,466
that did all the 
printing for him,

431
00:22:15,566 --> 00:22:18,133
someone was there hand coloring.

432
00:22:18,233 --> 00:22:21,633
I haven't actually done 
the math for a long time.

433
00:22:21,733 --> 00:22:24,133
Some of them may be 
better at this than I am,

434
00:22:24,233 --> 00:22:27,866
but 30 some images times 300.

435
00:22:29,166 --> 00:22:30,866
100,000?

436
00:22:30,966 --> 00:22:32,566
Who's good at math here?

437
00:22:32,666 --> 00:22:35,233
30 times 300? 
A hundred by a hundred?

438
00:22:35,333 --> 00:22:39,800
So people hand 
colored 100,000 prints

439
00:22:39,900 --> 00:22:43,666
for this one small 
part of this project.

440
00:22:44,666 --> 00:22:47,000
And this is a gold tone.

441
00:22:47,100 --> 00:22:50,333
This is a process 
where Curtis realized

442
00:22:50,433 --> 00:22:52,633
that by taking, 
what was intended

443
00:22:52,733 --> 00:22:55,433
to be a glass plate negative

444
00:22:55,533 --> 00:22:57,266
instead of putting 
it in the camera,

445
00:22:57,366 --> 00:22:58,966
putting it in the enlarger

446
00:22:59,066 --> 00:23:01,100
and exposing it to 
the original negative,

447
00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,933
he got a glass plate 
positive, okay?

448
00:23:05,033 --> 00:23:07,400
So the imagery had on 
glass, we all know what,

449
00:23:07,500 --> 00:23:11,066
well, they're generally 
small but we look at 
negative looks like.

450
00:23:11,166 --> 00:23:15,066
He took that and created 
a glass plate positive

451
00:23:15,166 --> 00:23:16,533
which would be transparent.

452
00:23:16,633 --> 00:23:18,166
He would've been able 
to see through it.

453
00:23:18,266 --> 00:23:21,033
He then took that 
glass plate positive

454
00:23:21,133 --> 00:23:23,433
and backed it with 
a gold liquid wash.

455
00:23:23,533 --> 00:23:27,100
And as far as I know, 
it is the most luminescent

456
00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:30,966
three-dimensional form 
of photography that 
was ever created.

457
00:23:31,066 --> 00:23:33,533
Curtis loved them, 
he was known for them.

458
00:23:33,633 --> 00:23:36,366
In fact they were called 
Curt-tones at the time.

459
00:23:38,233 --> 00:23:40,800
So Scott Momaday 
is a Pulitzer Prize winning

460
00:23:40,900 --> 00:23:42,500
Native American author

461
00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:46,166
who is quite enamored 
of Curtis' work.

462
00:23:46,266 --> 00:23:49,000
This is from one 
of my early books.

463
00:23:49,100 --> 00:23:52,100
It's this essentially 
quality of this work,

464
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,733
the universality 
of Curtis' work.

465
00:23:54,833 --> 00:23:57,900
It is certainly 
about Native people.

466
00:23:58,900 --> 00:24:01,600
And it's about indigenous 
people worldwide

467
00:24:01,700 --> 00:24:03,800
in many respects.

468
00:24:03,900 --> 00:24:06,033
But it's really about everybody.

469
00:24:06,133 --> 00:24:09,133
There are aspects of his work 
there are about everybody,

470
00:24:09,233 --> 00:24:13,433
and I think we go back to 
presence intimacy, connection,

471
00:24:13,533 --> 00:24:15,466
being a human being.

472
00:24:15,566 --> 00:24:17,533
So now we're, again, 
a little more rapidly

473
00:24:17,633 --> 00:24:19,166
going to go through 
and look at some

474
00:24:19,266 --> 00:24:21,000
different culture 
geographic areas.

475
00:24:21,100 --> 00:24:24,200
So some of you know 
Curtis only photographed

476
00:24:24,300 --> 00:24:28,566
from the Dakota's 
West to the Pacific,

477
00:24:28,666 --> 00:24:31,200
and from Northern 
Mexico to Alaska.

478
00:24:32,300 --> 00:24:34,833
All the tribes east of that

479
00:24:34,933 --> 00:24:38,900
had to either have been 
forced to move, exterminated,

480
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:43,100
or their culture is so decimated 
that there is very little left.

481
00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:45,400
And I don't want to dwell 
too much on extermination,

482
00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:50,333
but it's a staggering statistic 
that in 1600s it's estimated

483
00:24:50,433 --> 00:24:54,233
that there were 20 to 
25 million Native people

484
00:24:54,333 --> 00:24:56,200
living on this continent,

485
00:24:56,300 --> 00:24:57,733
hundreds and 
hundreds and hundreds

486
00:24:57,833 --> 00:25:01,233
of different tribal groups, 
so 20 to 25 million.

487
00:25:01,333 --> 00:25:06,033
1900 was a serious 
scientifically valid census

488
00:25:06,133 --> 00:25:08,933
kind of the whole 
country, 250,000.

489
00:25:10,366 --> 00:25:15,166
Right, so you're talking 
about 99% attrition rate.

490
00:25:16,166 --> 00:25:19,400
And that's just physically, 
we also obviously

491
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:22,333
completely decimated 
the culture.

492
00:25:22,433 --> 00:25:24,400
So what native have been through

493
00:25:24,500 --> 00:25:26,833
and the fact that 
they are still with us,

494
00:25:26,933 --> 00:25:30,466
in many cases thriving, 
is really extraordinary.

495
00:25:31,466 --> 00:25:33,833
So now we're int he 
Pacific northwest,

496
00:25:33,933 --> 00:25:35,666
and again Curtis 
worked out of Seattle,

497
00:25:35,766 --> 00:25:38,733
so this was sort of 
home territory for him.

498
00:25:38,833 --> 00:25:41,133
So most people 
know Curtis either

499
00:25:41,233 --> 00:25:44,166
for his portraits 
or his landscapes,

500
00:25:44,266 --> 00:25:49,166
but he was also a very gifted 
still life photographer.

501
00:25:50,900 --> 00:25:53,533
This is titled 
Puget Sound Baskets.

502
00:25:54,566 --> 00:25:56,566
This is called Lummi Type.

503
00:25:56,666 --> 00:26:00,133
And this was the first 
Curtis image I had ever seen.

504
00:26:00,233 --> 00:26:02,166
I just spent six months living

505
00:26:02,266 --> 00:26:04,933
in a very isolated 
village in Mexico.

506
00:26:06,266 --> 00:26:08,200
I saw three Caucasians.

507
00:26:08,300 --> 00:26:11,633
I was people who had never 
seen a Caucasian before,

508
00:26:11,733 --> 00:26:14,000
and I was too young 
and stupid to know

509
00:26:14,100 --> 00:26:17,500
what a crazy and sometimes 
dangerous situation this was.

510
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,533
I just kept on doing 
what I was doing.

511
00:26:20,633 --> 00:26:23,600
When I first saw this 
photograph, it was a 
day and a half

512
00:26:23,700 --> 00:26:26,266
after getting back to the 
United States from that trip

513
00:26:26,366 --> 00:26:28,233
and I was staying 
with a friend of mine

514
00:26:28,333 --> 00:26:31,133
who I had gone through 
photography school 
with in Colorado

515
00:26:31,233 --> 00:26:34,666
and she was living about 20 
miles outside of Albuquerque.

516
00:26:34,766 --> 00:26:36,800
And that was my 
decompression point

517
00:26:36,900 --> 00:26:38,866
coming back to the States.

518
00:26:38,966 --> 00:26:42,666
I showed her some of my 
sepia-colored photographs 
I had done on that village,

519
00:26:42,766 --> 00:26:44,700
and she said, "You got 
to see this guy named

520
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:46,933
"Edward Curtis and 
see his photographs."

521
00:26:47,033 --> 00:26:49,700
So we hopped on the 
Volkswagen Beetle the next day

522
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:52,233
and drove 20 miles into town.

523
00:26:52,333 --> 00:26:54,666
And I can tell you exactly--

524
00:26:54,766 --> 00:26:56,266
This was the cover 
image on the book--

525
00:26:56,366 --> 00:26:59,100
I can tell you exactly 
what shelf it was in,

526
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:02,233
what orientation in 
the bookshop it was in,

527
00:27:02,333 --> 00:27:04,433
where the sunlight 
was coming from.

528
00:27:04,533 --> 00:27:08,500
I mean this is so 
indelibly etched in my mind

529
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:10,766
and it was such a 
deeply transformational

530
00:27:10,866 --> 00:27:12,766
experience for me.

531
00:27:13,966 --> 00:27:16,266
Okay, more northwest 
coast imagery.

532
00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:21,933
California.

533
00:27:25,633 --> 00:27:28,200
And many of us are completely 
unaware that there were

534
00:27:28,300 --> 00:27:29,866
tribal groups living 
in California.

535
00:27:29,966 --> 00:27:34,366
It was actually culturally 
extremely diverse and rich.

536
00:27:34,466 --> 00:27:36,666
There are many, many, 
many tribes there.

537
00:27:40,066 --> 00:27:44,666
Plains and plateau which is 
west of the Great Plains.

538
00:27:44,766 --> 00:27:46,266
And north.

539
00:27:46,366 --> 00:27:47,933
Chief Joseph, again,

540
00:27:48,033 --> 00:27:50,333
one of the great leaders 
of the 19th century.

541
00:27:50,433 --> 00:27:53,566
Curtis was actually 
invited to participate

542
00:27:53,666 --> 00:27:55,766
in Joseph's reburial.

543
00:27:55,866 --> 00:27:58,133
I believe Curtis was 
the only non-Native

544
00:27:58,233 --> 00:28:00,266
who was invited to do that.

545
00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:03,500
Joseph was an 
incredible human being.

546
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:05,533
And it was his 
friendship with Joseph

547
00:28:05,633 --> 00:28:08,700
and Red Cloud to a lesser 
degree, with Geronimo,

548
00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:10,866
that gave him such 
incredible access

549
00:28:10,966 --> 00:28:13,366
to native populations who were

550
00:28:13,466 --> 00:28:16,333
understandably very standoffish

551
00:28:16,433 --> 00:28:19,566
and very suspicious of 
white culture at that point.

552
00:28:19,666 --> 00:28:23,033
Classic Curtis image, 
the Kutenai Duck Hunter.

553
00:28:23,133 --> 00:28:26,033
There was a benefit 
auction for a really

554
00:28:26,133 --> 00:28:29,100
wonderful wildlife 
rehabilitation center

555
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,300
in St. Paul that 
I participated in

556
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:34,233
and donated a print to.

557
00:28:34,333 --> 00:28:36,300
And I initially 
said, oh, let's do

558
00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:38,000
the Kutenai Duck Hunter because

559
00:28:38,100 --> 00:28:40,366
it looks like from 
this present country,

560
00:28:40,466 --> 00:28:42,033
it's actually Southern Alberta.

561
00:28:42,133 --> 00:28:46,433
And I talked about the 
title, Kutanai Duck Hunter.

562
00:28:46,533 --> 00:28:49,300
Wildlife rehabilitation? No, no.

563
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,000
So we switched to a variant.

564
00:28:54,133 --> 00:28:56,333
I love the sense of mystery.

565
00:28:56,433 --> 00:28:58,733
Again, this sense of connection,

566
00:28:58,833 --> 00:29:00,400
this sense of presence.

567
00:29:00,500 --> 00:29:03,633
This man is clearly 
very much there.

568
00:29:03,733 --> 00:29:07,100
And even today with all 
the photographs being made,

569
00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:09,666
in my opinion is very, very--

570
00:29:09,766 --> 00:29:11,700
And all the incredible 
equipment people have

571
00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:13,933
and the amazing studios.

572
00:29:14,033 --> 00:29:15,866
It is really, really rare

573
00:29:15,966 --> 00:29:18,133
in the entire history 
of photography

574
00:29:18,233 --> 00:29:20,533
that you find people 
who are connected

575
00:29:20,633 --> 00:29:23,900
with the photographer as 
Curtis' recipients were.

576
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,700
And to me it speaks the fact

577
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,466
that these people, 
the Native people

578
00:29:29,566 --> 00:29:33,333
wanted this record preserved 
as much as Curtis did.

579
00:29:33,433 --> 00:29:35,000
And, again, going back to being

580
00:29:35,100 --> 00:29:38,366
a collaborative 
co-creative process.

581
00:29:41,966 --> 00:29:43,466
Nez Perce Babe.

582
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:50,200
Assiniboine, which 
is Southern Alberta.

583
00:29:53,033 --> 00:29:56,333
Also I've always 
loved Curtis ephemera.

584
00:29:57,333 --> 00:29:59,366
That's another thing 
that's very, very unusual

585
00:29:59,466 --> 00:30:00,733
about this exhibition.

586
00:30:00,833 --> 00:30:03,166
There's a lot of 
interesting ephemera here.

587
00:30:04,266 --> 00:30:07,333
Plate covers, 
letters, post cards,

588
00:30:07,433 --> 00:30:11,633
all aspects of this incredible 
enterprise that Curtis did.

589
00:30:11,733 --> 00:30:16,633
So these are both from 
the Alaska Harriman 
Expedition, 1899.

590
00:30:16,733 --> 00:30:20,566
Harriman was a contemporary 
and pretty much

591
00:30:20,666 --> 00:30:24,233
an equal of J.P. Morgan in 
terms of power and wealth.

592
00:30:24,333 --> 00:30:27,100
And he invited 
Curtis and rescued

593
00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:30,033
a lost group of 
mountaineers in 1898

594
00:30:30,133 --> 00:30:33,400
through this chance 
coincidence, chance happening.

595
00:30:33,500 --> 00:30:35,400
Curtis was then invited by some

596
00:30:35,500 --> 00:30:39,400
of the members of this 
expedition to join them,

597
00:30:39,500 --> 00:30:43,666
to join them to become 
the principal photographer

598
00:30:43,766 --> 00:30:45,633
for the Harriman 
Expedition which was one

599
00:30:45,733 --> 00:30:49,666
of the great scientific 
expeditions of the 19th century.

600
00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:54,233
Post cards.

601
00:30:54,333 --> 00:30:57,500
Curtis and his company 
that he created

602
00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:04,033
to do this project were 
incessantly insolvent

603
00:31:04,133 --> 00:31:05,833
from the very beginning.

604
00:31:05,933 --> 00:31:08,800
Again, Morgan said yes 
to Mr. Curtis.

605
00:31:08,900 --> 00:31:10,366
I'll give you 
enough money to back

606
00:31:10,466 --> 00:31:12,500
the field research 
for five years.

607
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,066
They thought this would 
take five years, not 30.

608
00:31:15,166 --> 00:31:17,933
I'll give you the money 
to do the field research,

609
00:31:18,033 --> 00:31:19,800
but you got to figure 
out the publishing,

610
00:31:19,900 --> 00:31:22,000
and that was the really 
expensive part again.

611
00:31:22,100 --> 00:31:25,600
Today's dollars, 
$35 million project.

612
00:31:25,700 --> 00:31:28,366
So that weight 
among all the others

613
00:31:28,466 --> 00:31:30,133
was left on Curtis' shoulders.

614
00:31:30,233 --> 00:31:31,866
So he was constantly struggling

615
00:31:31,966 --> 00:31:34,200
any way he could to 
raise additional funds,

616
00:31:34,300 --> 00:31:37,600
whether it was creating a 
Hollywood movie which he did,

617
00:31:37,700 --> 00:31:40,200
giving lectures, 
doing exhibitions,

618
00:31:40,300 --> 00:31:42,066
whatever he could do 
to raise money he did,

619
00:31:42,166 --> 00:31:43,566
and this is one example.

620
00:31:43,666 --> 00:31:45,866
And in the middle that's 
Chief Joseph again.

621
00:31:48,533 --> 00:31:51,400
This is one that I'm 
particularly fond of.

622
00:31:51,500 --> 00:31:53,466
It's a 16 by 20, excuse me,

623
00:31:53,566 --> 00:31:56,066
a 12 by 16-inch 
print that Curtis

624
00:31:56,166 --> 00:31:58,500
did not tone for 
whatever reason.

625
00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,700
We'll never know, or sign.

626
00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:03,333
Lower left-hand 
corner you can see

627
00:32:03,433 --> 00:32:05,566
the negative number 
which indicates

628
00:32:05,666 --> 00:32:09,966
that this was done in 1904,

629
00:32:10,066 --> 00:32:12,833
so an early photograph 
of a Hopi woman.

630
00:32:12,933 --> 00:32:17,833
There's something ineffable 
to me about this print.

631
00:32:17,933 --> 00:32:23,166
I find it so compelling, 
so emotional.

632
00:32:23,266 --> 00:32:27,833
I can sense the sorrow, 
but also the pride.

633
00:32:27,933 --> 00:32:30,466
It is just one of my 
favorite photographs

634
00:32:30,566 --> 00:32:33,733
and very unusual for Curtis.

635
00:32:34,733 --> 00:32:37,000
As I mentioned Curtis 
did a Hollywood picture

636
00:32:37,100 --> 00:32:40,433
trying to raise 
money for the project

637
00:32:40,533 --> 00:32:41,766
which was a failure.

638
00:32:41,866 --> 00:32:44,500
It was critically a success

639
00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:46,133
but people didn't 
turn out for it.

640
00:32:46,233 --> 00:32:48,233
It was also towards 
the beginning

641
00:32:48,333 --> 00:32:50,766
of the First World War.

642
00:32:50,866 --> 00:32:53,366
And again if I haven't 
mentioned earlier.

643
00:32:53,466 --> 00:32:57,300
Curtis was a very gifted 
multimedia artist.

644
00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:00,200
So at this time people 
are making photographs

645
00:33:00,300 --> 00:33:02,566
and they made photographs 
and they sold prints.

646
00:33:02,666 --> 00:33:06,766
Curtis created this exhibition, 
this multimedia performance,

647
00:33:06,866 --> 00:33:09,100
that premiered at Carnegie Hall,

648
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:12,700
sold out Carnegie Hall either 
two times or three times.

649
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:14,966
He commissioned a full orchestra

650
00:33:15,066 --> 00:33:17,666
or 24-piece orchestra, 
I shouldn't say full.

651
00:33:17,766 --> 00:33:21,433
And the music was done by 
Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan.

652
00:33:21,533 --> 00:33:23,366
So he had a live orchestra.

653
00:33:23,466 --> 00:33:25,333
He had two slide projectors.

654
00:33:25,433 --> 00:33:29,033
He had a film camera and 
he was up on stage talking.

655
00:33:29,133 --> 00:33:33,566
So it was a real, true 
multimedia experience.

656
00:33:33,666 --> 00:33:35,533
This is something 
I got very early on

657
00:33:35,633 --> 00:33:38,566
that to me a very important 
part of my collection,

658
00:33:38,666 --> 00:33:42,100
and this goes back to 
that idea of ineffability.

659
00:33:43,500 --> 00:33:46,433
I've looked at this 
for 35 years now.

660
00:33:46,533 --> 00:33:48,566
I've not gotten tired of it.

661
00:33:48,666 --> 00:33:51,533
I have no idea how many 
times I've looked at it.

662
00:33:51,633 --> 00:33:53,400
To me this is magic.

663
00:33:53,500 --> 00:33:57,566
This was created 
by a consciousness

664
00:33:57,666 --> 00:33:59,966
that I will never 
begin to understand.

665
00:34:00,066 --> 00:34:03,066
I mean I can tell you, I know 
what some of the symbols mean.

666
00:34:03,166 --> 00:34:05,133
I know this was Northwest coast.

667
00:34:05,233 --> 00:34:06,966
I know this is a shaman.

668
00:34:07,066 --> 00:34:09,666
But what the 
experience was like,

669
00:34:09,766 --> 00:34:12,200
what it really meant, 
I have no idea

670
00:34:12,300 --> 00:34:15,033
and I'm a sucker for 
things I can't understand.

671
00:34:15,133 --> 00:34:20,200
So, Southwest, this 
Curtis' signature piece,

672
00:34:20,300 --> 00:34:21,566
the Vanishing Race.

673
00:34:21,666 --> 00:34:23,833
This was done in 1904.

674
00:34:23,933 --> 00:34:28,033
And this is 
basically code speak.

675
00:34:28,133 --> 00:34:29,933
I do not think 
that Curtis believed

676
00:34:30,033 --> 00:34:33,400
that literally this race 
was going to vanish,

677
00:34:33,500 --> 00:34:35,966
although it wasn't impossible, 
again we go back to that

678
00:34:36,066 --> 00:34:39,900
statistic of 25 
million to 250,000.

679
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:43,733
It was not unthinkable that 
they would disappear as a race.

680
00:34:43,833 --> 00:34:45,700
But, I don't think 
Curtis believed that.

681
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:48,800
But, the culture was 
being decimated,

682
00:34:48,900 --> 00:34:52,266
and that's what Curtis is 
really interested in doing,

683
00:34:52,366 --> 00:34:54,500
was preserving the 
culture, the beliefs,

684
00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:56,366
the records of the individuals.

685
00:34:57,366 --> 00:35:00,100
Another one of my 
favorite photographs.

686
00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:04,566
I've seen this reproduced 
in a magazine from 1905,

687
00:35:04,666 --> 00:35:06,566
and then this print that I own.

688
00:35:06,666 --> 00:35:08,800
And again there's 
a magic about it,

689
00:35:08,900 --> 00:35:12,800
the framing is so 
atypical for Curtis.

690
00:35:12,900 --> 00:35:14,366
Instead of seeing 
the background,

691
00:35:14,466 --> 00:35:17,033
seeing where the people 
or dark background

692
00:35:17,133 --> 00:35:18,833
to really focus on the people.

693
00:35:18,933 --> 00:35:23,766
You got these two Hopi women 
with the squash blossom hair

694
00:35:23,866 --> 00:35:27,533
sitting on a window sill 
peering out at Curtis.

695
00:35:27,633 --> 00:35:28,866
Pretty fabulous.

696
00:35:28,966 --> 00:35:31,300
Another well-known 
image of Curtis'

697
00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:33,166
called Son of the Desert.

698
00:35:34,166 --> 00:35:36,733
This is an image 
called Hopi Man.

699
00:35:36,833 --> 00:35:38,700
This is a platinum print.

700
00:35:41,133 --> 00:35:43,166
I think we have a 
photograph here of it

701
00:35:43,266 --> 00:35:45,066
in the exhibit somewhere.

702
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:51,500
I mentioned before the idea of 
an object imbued with spirit,

703
00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:55,266
and this is one of the 
best examples I have.

704
00:35:55,366 --> 00:35:57,166
I had looked at 
this for 20 years

705
00:35:57,266 --> 00:35:59,566
and 25 years ago I went down

706
00:35:59,666 --> 00:36:03,466
in the vault where 
I keep all this material 
and brought this out.

707
00:36:03,566 --> 00:36:06,333
And as soon as I 
brought this one out and 
started looking at it,

708
00:36:06,433 --> 00:36:09,366
I had this intense 
physical sensation

709
00:36:09,466 --> 00:36:13,366
in the area of my heart, 
my heart chakra, in other words.

710
00:36:13,466 --> 00:36:15,933
And I didn't really understand 
what it was all about.

711
00:36:16,033 --> 00:36:18,466
I just knew this is a 
favorite image of mine.

712
00:36:18,566 --> 00:36:21,300
This sort of cool, I have 
this weird sensation going on

713
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:23,666
but I had no idea what it meant.

714
00:36:23,766 --> 00:36:27,200
And then a few weeks later 
I went down the basement, 
looked at it again.

715
00:36:27,300 --> 00:36:29,333
When I go down to my 
vault I might look at

716
00:36:29,433 --> 00:36:32,300
30 or 40 or 50 images at a time.

717
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,333
I went down the same thing 
happened with this image.

718
00:36:35,433 --> 00:36:37,933
It didn't happen with 
any other images.

719
00:36:38,033 --> 00:36:39,833
And I've worked with 
a Native American

720
00:36:39,933 --> 00:36:42,400
medicine woman for a 
quarter of a century,

721
00:36:42,500 --> 00:36:45,133
and I told her about 
this and she said,

722
00:36:45,233 --> 00:36:47,433
well, of course, Chris.

723
00:36:47,533 --> 00:36:50,033
That is touching your heart.

724
00:36:50,133 --> 00:36:51,666
It is moving your heart chakra,

725
00:36:51,766 --> 00:36:55,066
and that is why you 
physically can feel

726
00:36:55,166 --> 00:36:57,666
what normally we 
might only understand.

727
00:36:57,766 --> 00:37:01,100
And, again, so this to me is 
an object imbued with spirit.

728
00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:03,033
Curtis got the image so right.

729
00:37:03,133 --> 00:37:06,433
He got the print so right, 
it's so beautifully done

730
00:37:06,533 --> 00:37:10,133
that it's like-- 
As a very, very famous

731
00:37:10,233 --> 00:37:12,600
photo critic said to me 
when looking at this--

732
00:37:12,700 --> 00:37:16,466
It's like you're there at 
the moment of its creation.

733
00:37:18,300 --> 00:37:22,100
That's how beautifully 
he translated his 
experience of that.

734
00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:24,566
The image on the left 
is called Vash Gon.

735
00:37:24,666 --> 00:37:26,433
That is a platinum print.

736
00:37:26,533 --> 00:37:28,966
This is obviously one of 
Curtis' favorite photographs

737
00:37:29,066 --> 00:37:30,800
because he did it 
as a platinum print,

738
00:37:30,900 --> 00:37:35,266
a photo gravure, a silver 
print, a hand colored print.

739
00:37:35,366 --> 00:37:37,533
And then as you can 
see on the right,

740
00:37:37,633 --> 00:37:39,433
it's also done as a sculpture.

741
00:37:39,533 --> 00:37:43,233
This is actually 
the plaster master

742
00:37:43,333 --> 00:37:46,366
to create a bronze bas-relief.

743
00:37:46,466 --> 00:37:48,833
And I had only seen 
the bronze bas-relief

744
00:37:48,933 --> 00:37:51,466
once in Curtis' grandson's home

745
00:37:51,566 --> 00:37:53,500
in the Puget Sound area.

746
00:37:54,500 --> 00:37:57,533
And so, a year 
and a half ago

747
00:37:57,633 --> 00:38:02,000
my sister who watches 
the Internet for me

748
00:38:02,100 --> 00:38:06,600
to find interesting, 
especially unusual things, 
called me one day and said,

749
00:38:06,700 --> 00:38:09,200
"There's this thing 
going up on eBay

750
00:38:09,300 --> 00:38:11,900
"and I have no idea what 
it was and the seller

751
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:13,833
"doesn't have any 
idea what it is."

752
00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:17,833
And it's some sort 
of plaster thing.

753
00:38:17,933 --> 00:38:19,366
And I said, okay, send me photo.

754
00:38:19,466 --> 00:38:21,700
I said, okay, that's Vash Gon.

755
00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:24,900
And that looks like 
it could be the model,

756
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:27,900
the original model for 
the bronze template

757
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:31,466
that has survived in 
Curtis' grandson's home.

758
00:38:31,566 --> 00:38:33,533
And so I had Julie, my sister

759
00:38:33,633 --> 00:38:35,500
email him back and 
forth several times

760
00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:37,766
to try and get more information.

761
00:38:37,866 --> 00:38:43,733
And I think it was being 
listed at $54 and 50 cents.

762
00:38:43,833 --> 00:38:45,900
(audience chuckling)

763
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:52,000
And I expected that if it 
was what I thought it was,

764
00:38:52,100 --> 00:38:54,733
I expected that there'd 
be many, many, many people

765
00:38:54,833 --> 00:38:58,433
bidding on it and I've had 
times at different auctions 
where I've gone,

766
00:38:58,533 --> 00:39:02,200
"Oh, this will sell for 
$500", that sells for $5,000.

767
00:39:02,300 --> 00:39:04,033
So if it's something 
you really want,

768
00:39:04,133 --> 00:39:05,933
you have to really 
be clear and prepared

769
00:39:06,033 --> 00:39:07,433
about what you're 
willing to pay for

770
00:39:07,533 --> 00:39:09,733
'cause you just don't know 
what's going to happen.

771
00:39:09,833 --> 00:39:11,533
So we went back and 
forth and finally said,

772
00:39:11,633 --> 00:39:15,200
could you get the owner to 
get on the phone with me

773
00:39:15,300 --> 00:39:17,866
because I can't 
understand what this is,

774
00:39:17,966 --> 00:39:20,133
and he's not giving 
us enough information.

775
00:39:20,233 --> 00:39:22,400
And she called him 
and said, "Yeah,

776
00:39:22,500 --> 00:39:24,666
"he'll talk to you 
tomorrow at 2 p.m."

777
00:39:24,766 --> 00:39:28,300
I said great, so I called him 
up and he's a really nice man,

778
00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:30,400
but he really couldn't 
tell me much about it.

779
00:39:30,500 --> 00:39:34,533
And I said, well, how big is it? 
It's about 14 by 20 inches.

780
00:39:34,633 --> 00:39:36,233
It's really heavy.

781
00:39:36,333 --> 00:39:39,400
And I said, well, where 
and when did you get it?

782
00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:43,166
And he said, I have no 
idea where we got it.

783
00:39:43,266 --> 00:39:45,333
My wife and I are pickers,

784
00:39:45,433 --> 00:39:48,066
so we go out to garage 
sales, estate sales,

785
00:39:48,166 --> 00:39:51,633
and find stuff and then 
resell it to someone else.

786
00:39:51,733 --> 00:39:54,800
He said, so, we got 
it about 25 years ago

787
00:39:54,900 --> 00:39:56,433
and we put it in our basement.

788
00:39:56,533 --> 00:39:59,700
And because it's so heavy, 
we didn't know what it was,

789
00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:01,700
we didn't want to 
move it so things

790
00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:04,733
got piled in front of it 
and piled in front it 
and piled in front it.

791
00:40:04,833 --> 00:40:07,200
And he said we're 
moving in two months.

792
00:40:07,300 --> 00:40:09,766
So we're having to get 
rid of a lot of a stuff

793
00:40:09,866 --> 00:40:13,200
and that's how we even 
discovered we had this thing.

794
00:40:13,300 --> 00:40:14,633
And I said, okay, well,

795
00:40:14,733 --> 00:40:16,866
so that was a good 
sign, I thought.

796
00:40:16,966 --> 00:40:18,266
And then-- It's hard to see,

797
00:40:18,366 --> 00:40:20,400
but in the lower 
left-hand corner--

798
00:40:20,500 --> 00:40:27,000
It says modeled by Alfred Lens

799
00:40:27,100 --> 00:40:29,966
after Curtis photograph 1909

800
00:40:30,066 --> 00:40:33,566
which is the year of Vash 
Gon photograph was made.

801
00:40:33,666 --> 00:40:37,900
It's exactly what's in the 
bronze in his grandson's home.

802
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:41,166
So I'm thinking, you know, 
this is probably the real deal.

803
00:40:41,266 --> 00:40:43,433
So then my conundrum was, okay,

804
00:40:43,533 --> 00:40:45,500
I think it's the real deal.

805
00:40:45,600 --> 00:40:48,666
And if it's the real deal, 
I don't have anything like this

806
00:40:48,766 --> 00:40:53,866
in my entire 4 or 5,000 
object collection.

807
00:40:53,966 --> 00:40:55,766
What am I willing to pay for it?

808
00:40:55,866 --> 00:40:57,733
So I struggled and I 
lost sleep that night

809
00:40:57,833 --> 00:40:59,666
and I finally came 
up with a number.

810
00:40:59,766 --> 00:41:01,933
I don't even 
remember what it was.

811
00:41:02,033 --> 00:41:04,333
And Julie was bidding for me.

812
00:41:04,433 --> 00:41:08,133
And so the next day at 12:07 
or whatever it went off.

813
00:41:08,233 --> 00:41:11,233
And so Julie called me at 
12:08 and said, "We got it."

814
00:41:11,333 --> 00:41:13,433
I said, great, what do 
we have to pay for it?

815
00:41:13,533 --> 00:41:15,533
"$54 and 50 cents."

816
00:41:15,633 --> 00:41:18,633
(audience laughing)

817
00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:23,700
And it graces a 
very prominent place

818
00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:25,200
in my living room at this point.

819
00:41:25,300 --> 00:41:28,700
So here's a border 
print of Vash Gon.

820
00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:31,466
This is Hopi Man.

821
00:41:31,566 --> 00:41:35,766
And again this is another-- 
If someone tries to tell me

822
00:41:35,866 --> 00:41:38,100
that Curtis manipulated 
the Native people

823
00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:40,166
in to doing what he wanted done,

824
00:41:42,100 --> 00:41:45,033
this guy is not going 
to take directions

825
00:41:45,133 --> 00:41:49,333
from anybody as many of the 
other people he photographed.

826
00:41:54,166 --> 00:41:56,200
Navajo Medicine Man.

827
00:41:56,300 --> 00:41:59,433
Again that sense of 
ineffability of a consciousness

828
00:41:59,533 --> 00:42:02,233
that created this and 
is performing this

829
00:42:02,333 --> 00:42:05,100
that I will never understand.

830
00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:12,600
Beautiful still life.

831
00:42:12,700 --> 00:42:14,533
Hopi Snake Priest.

832
00:42:18,966 --> 00:42:22,533
A Hopi boy awaiting the 
return of the snake dancers.

833
00:42:24,066 --> 00:42:27,533
This print is very 
unusual for Curtis,

834
00:42:27,633 --> 00:42:29,166
as you probably noticed.

835
00:42:29,266 --> 00:42:32,733
Almost all of Curtis' portraits 
have a dark background,

836
00:42:32,833 --> 00:42:35,233
and it's like the 
image the human being

837
00:42:35,333 --> 00:42:38,466
is coming out of an 
unknown background.

838
00:42:38,566 --> 00:42:41,433
In this case very different. 
This is a Taos man.

839
00:42:42,900 --> 00:42:48,133
This is perhaps Curtis' 
most well-known image.

840
00:42:48,233 --> 00:42:49,833
This is Canyon De Chelly.

841
00:42:49,933 --> 00:42:52,133
And Curtis spent three days here

842
00:42:52,233 --> 00:42:56,100
trying to get the photograph 
that would convey what he felt.

843
00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:58,366
And he tried it with 
three horseback riders,

844
00:42:58,466 --> 00:43:00,166
five horseback riders.

845
00:43:00,266 --> 00:43:02,566
I don't know if he went 
to eight, nine and 10,

846
00:43:02,666 --> 00:43:05,600
but he ended up with 
these seven and the dog.

847
00:43:05,700 --> 00:43:09,733
And those are thousand-foot 
cliffs behind these riders.

848
00:43:09,833 --> 00:43:12,500
And to me it so 
beautifully exemplifies

849
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:16,100
man's insignificance 
relative to nature.

850
00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:17,733
I think that's 
one of the reasons

851
00:43:17,833 --> 00:43:20,266
most people find 
it so compelling.

852
00:43:20,366 --> 00:43:23,333
Hopi women with the 
squash blossom hair.

853
00:43:23,433 --> 00:43:24,800
They're up on the house top

854
00:43:24,900 --> 00:43:27,100
overlooking the 
central plaza where

855
00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:29,100
a ceremony is being performed.

856
00:43:30,900 --> 00:43:32,433
Great Plains.

857
00:43:35,933 --> 00:43:37,766
Bear's Belly.

858
00:43:37,866 --> 00:43:40,033
And again there's a 
beautiful biography,

859
00:43:40,133 --> 00:43:42,200
biographical information 
on Bear's Belly

860
00:43:42,300 --> 00:43:45,633
that talks about when he 
was born, where he was born.

861
00:43:45,733 --> 00:43:48,466
To become a man his--

862
00:43:48,566 --> 00:43:51,200
I had to drink a 
six pack of beer,

863
00:43:51,300 --> 00:43:55,866
I don't remember what 
else was my rite of 
passage to become a man--

864
00:43:55,966 --> 00:43:59,433
He had to go kill a bear with 
his bare hands and a knife.

865
00:43:59,533 --> 00:44:02,533
And when he went to do it, 
the bear had two friends.

866
00:44:02,633 --> 00:44:06,833
He killed all three bears 
single handedly with a knife.

867
00:44:09,566 --> 00:44:11,466
Red Cloud, again,

868
00:44:11,566 --> 00:44:14,366
one of the really great, 
great tribal leaders,

869
00:44:14,466 --> 00:44:16,433
and great leaders.

870
00:44:22,133 --> 00:44:24,966
So this is, again, 
as a collector,

871
00:44:25,066 --> 00:44:27,866
this is the kind of thing 
that I absolutely love.

872
00:44:27,966 --> 00:44:30,200
I've only seen two 
reproductions of this.

873
00:44:30,300 --> 00:44:34,300
I've never seen another 
original print of this image.

874
00:44:34,400 --> 00:44:37,000
I got it 20 or 25 years ago.

875
00:44:37,100 --> 00:44:41,600
And I'd had it for a while 
and then I went to an auction, 
similar kind of thing.

876
00:44:41,700 --> 00:44:43,800
There's a guy with 
a white collar

877
00:44:43,900 --> 00:44:46,266
and a bow tie who's 
an investment banker.

878
00:44:46,366 --> 00:44:48,800
And I've been bidding 
against them on something 
the day before.

879
00:44:48,900 --> 00:44:51,433
I mean I wasn't even close.

880
00:44:51,533 --> 00:44:54,100
And he came in to the 
other auction house

881
00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:58,066
the next day, and I really, 
really wanted this.

882
00:44:58,166 --> 00:45:01,566
And he was there 
and I thought, okay,

883
00:45:01,666 --> 00:45:03,500
I'm going to be blown 
out of the water.

884
00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:06,500
He left before this 
came up for bidding.

885
00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:09,100
So I had the other one 
from 20, 25 years ago

886
00:45:09,200 --> 00:45:11,633
and this came up at 
auction about 10 years ago,

887
00:45:11,733 --> 00:45:14,100
and I really wanted 
this one also.

888
00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:15,933
And I ended up getting it.

889
00:45:16,033 --> 00:45:17,566
Again it was one of 
these things where

890
00:45:17,666 --> 00:45:19,933
I don't remember what 
the opening bid was

891
00:45:20,033 --> 00:45:21,700
but it wasn't insignificant.

892
00:45:21,800 --> 00:45:25,066
But I put my paddle up. 
Nothing else happened.

893
00:45:25,166 --> 00:45:27,033
Hammer down.

894
00:45:27,133 --> 00:45:30,033
Paddle number 162, it's yours.

895
00:45:30,133 --> 00:45:33,133
And I was absolutely elated.

896
00:45:33,233 --> 00:45:35,433
And my assistant 
who had been with me

897
00:45:35,533 --> 00:45:37,333
for seven or eight 
years at that point

898
00:45:37,433 --> 00:45:42,100
had the catalog at home and I 
said I got lot 57. I'm so happy.

899
00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:43,966
I've never seen 
anything quite like it.

900
00:45:44,066 --> 00:45:45,633
She said, well, Chris,

901
00:45:45,733 --> 00:45:47,600
(laughing)

902
00:45:47,700 --> 00:45:52,633
you have the same man in 
another photograph that 
was taken the same day.

903
00:45:52,733 --> 00:45:56,066
So again, as a collector 
to have a photograph

904
00:45:56,166 --> 00:45:57,566
that is super, super rare,

905
00:45:57,666 --> 00:46:00,066
that's never been reproduced 
in the books or anything,

906
00:46:00,166 --> 00:46:02,733
and then to have 
full frontal portrait

907
00:46:02,833 --> 00:46:05,933
and the profile, 
it's just, okay.

908
00:46:06,033 --> 00:46:07,600
I was blessed.

909
00:46:10,133 --> 00:46:13,266
Piegan Dandy, great 
photograph of Curtis'.

910
00:46:16,333 --> 00:46:18,833
Curtis did not photograph--

911
00:46:18,933 --> 00:46:23,033
About 30% or 35% of Curtis' 
photographs are women.

912
00:46:23,133 --> 00:46:27,000
And that's because it's typical 
with indigenous societies,

913
00:46:27,100 --> 00:46:31,300
they're certainly as active 
as men, probably more so,

914
00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:33,833
but they don't interact 
with the outside world

915
00:46:33,933 --> 00:46:35,333
as much as men would.

916
00:46:35,433 --> 00:46:37,966
So Curtis' photographs of 
women are somewhat rare,

917
00:46:38,066 --> 00:46:40,833
and his photographs in 
winter are very scarce

918
00:46:40,933 --> 00:46:44,166
because he was out with a 
60-pound camera and tripod,

919
00:46:44,266 --> 00:46:45,800
fairly primitive materials.

920
00:46:45,900 --> 00:46:49,200
And just the coldness and 
dealing with the elements

921
00:46:49,300 --> 00:46:52,500
made it very difficult to 
photograph in the winter.

922
00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:56,600
This is a little triptych 
from the Black Hills.

923
00:47:00,933 --> 00:47:05,633
This is a Peigan image 
called the Travois.

924
00:47:05,733 --> 00:47:08,566
The Travois, those are teepee--

925
00:47:10,233 --> 00:47:13,033
Tent poles that you 
see the horses moving

926
00:47:13,133 --> 00:47:15,033
all their earthly 
possessions on.

927
00:47:16,766 --> 00:47:19,066
Which is sort of extraordinary 
that every season

928
00:47:19,166 --> 00:47:20,766
they would have to move all

929
00:47:20,866 --> 00:47:23,866
their earthly possessions 
and go to a better climate.

930
00:47:23,966 --> 00:47:29,800
And Scott Momaday, who we 
saw quote from earlier on

931
00:47:29,900 --> 00:47:31,800
about the ineffability,

932
00:47:31,900 --> 00:47:34,866
about the essential qualities 
of Curtis' photographs,

933
00:47:34,966 --> 00:47:37,600
talked about when he 
first saw this image

934
00:47:37,700 --> 00:47:39,633
he'd never seen it before.

935
00:47:39,733 --> 00:47:42,900
He saw it as a reproduction 
in a store, gallery,

936
00:47:44,333 --> 00:47:47,466
and he was moved to tears 
and he didn't understand

937
00:47:47,566 --> 00:47:50,700
why this image 
moved him so deeply.

938
00:47:50,800 --> 00:47:53,400
And he, doing a little 
bit of research,

939
00:47:53,500 --> 00:47:55,766
discovered these 
were his people.

940
00:47:55,866 --> 00:47:57,833
This was his tribal group.

941
00:47:59,833 --> 00:48:01,833
This is Horse Capture.

942
00:48:01,933 --> 00:48:04,700
Horse Capture's grandson 
George Horse Capture

943
00:48:04,800 --> 00:48:07,833
who became a really 
noted, esteemed

944
00:48:07,933 --> 00:48:09,433
Native American scholar and was

945
00:48:09,533 --> 00:48:11,566
the first curator of 
the National Museum

946
00:48:11,666 --> 00:48:13,066
of the American Indian.

947
00:48:13,166 --> 00:48:15,600
When he was in his 40s, 
he was very dejected,

948
00:48:15,700 --> 00:48:20,500
very unhappy, a pretty 
profound alcoholic.

949
00:48:20,600 --> 00:48:23,300
And someone told him that 
there was a photograph

950
00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:26,100
of his great grandfather 
in these Curtis' books.

951
00:48:26,200 --> 00:48:28,333
And he discovered 
that there was a set.

952
00:48:28,433 --> 00:48:31,433
And he lived, George 
in lived in Montana

953
00:48:31,533 --> 00:48:33,433
and he discovered that 
there was a complete set

954
00:48:33,533 --> 00:48:35,300
at Gonzaga University.

955
00:48:35,400 --> 00:48:37,466
So he reached out to one 
of the brothers there

956
00:48:37,566 --> 00:48:39,533
who said, certainly 
come in and take a look

957
00:48:39,633 --> 00:48:41,133
and I'll show you the 
original photograph.

958
00:48:41,233 --> 00:48:42,966
He came in and looked at it.

959
00:48:43,066 --> 00:48:45,166
And I can't tell 
you this was the

960
00:48:45,266 --> 00:48:47,633
only thing or the single 
most important thing

961
00:48:47,733 --> 00:48:49,266
that his life changed.

962
00:48:49,366 --> 00:48:52,866
He then saw this photograph 
of his great grandfather,

963
00:48:52,966 --> 00:48:54,800
read his history, read about one

964
00:48:54,900 --> 00:48:57,333
incredible human 
being he was,

965
00:48:57,433 --> 00:49:00,200
all his exploits, his 
personal integrity.

966
00:49:00,300 --> 00:49:03,766
And then he went to University 
of Indiana Bloomington

967
00:49:03,866 --> 00:49:05,500
where they have some 
of the sound recordings

968
00:49:05,600 --> 00:49:07,000
that Curtis made,

969
00:49:07,100 --> 00:49:12,066
and he heard two or three 
sacred private family songs.

970
00:49:12,933 --> 00:49:15,000
And that changed his life.

971
00:49:15,100 --> 00:49:18,033
So he went from being 
a dejected alcoholic,

972
00:49:18,133 --> 00:49:20,200
to becoming a great, 
noted esteemed

973
00:49:20,300 --> 00:49:22,266
Native American scholar.

974
00:49:23,300 --> 00:49:26,900
So that's pretty much 
it for the Curtis.

975
00:49:27,000 --> 00:49:29,100
So really quickly 
what I'm doing,

976
00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:31,900
why I continue to do 
this after 45 years

977
00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:34,433
when most people probably 
would've gotten bored,

978
00:49:34,533 --> 00:49:38,533
is this is all about 
bringing this work

979
00:49:38,633 --> 00:49:40,466
to the world at this point.

980
00:49:40,566 --> 00:49:42,833
My little company 
and I are doing

981
00:49:42,933 --> 00:49:44,800
all kinds of things including

982
00:49:44,900 --> 00:49:49,900
a 10,000-print 
repatriation of images.

983
00:49:50,766 --> 00:49:53,233
So, with Horse Capture's family,

984
00:49:53,333 --> 00:49:54,833
we've sent six or eight images

985
00:49:54,933 --> 00:49:56,766
back to them, 
Red Cloud's family,

986
00:49:57,766 --> 00:50:00,233
individuals who may 
be more prominent

987
00:50:00,333 --> 00:50:02,200
but we're able to identify

988
00:50:02,300 --> 00:50:07,300
and we're doing this 
repatriation project.

989
00:50:08,300 --> 00:50:13,000
We're doing all kinds of things 
to bring the imagery which is

990
00:50:13,100 --> 00:50:16,900
paramount for me and all 
this cultural information

991
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:19,400
in the forms of 
reproduction to these books

992
00:50:19,500 --> 00:50:21,133
back to Native people.

993
00:50:21,233 --> 00:50:24,633
And this is one of 
my favorite examples.

994
00:50:24,733 --> 00:50:29,500
This is Art Seater 
whose great grandfather--

995
00:50:29,600 --> 00:50:31,966
You can see photographed 
there in a Curtis photograph

996
00:50:32,066 --> 00:50:34,133
with the wonderful top knot.

997
00:50:34,233 --> 00:50:35,900
And if I had enough hair left

998
00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:39,433
I'd probably be tempted 
to do the same thing.

999
00:50:40,433 --> 00:50:43,500
And I was giving a talk 
in Seattle two years ago.

1000
00:50:43,600 --> 00:50:45,266
And a friend of mine said, well,

1001
00:50:45,366 --> 00:50:48,400
I've got a Native American 
medicine man friend

1002
00:50:48,500 --> 00:50:50,833
who would like to come and 
do a blessing for your talk.

1003
00:50:50,933 --> 00:50:52,566
I said wonderful.

1004
00:50:52,666 --> 00:50:56,200
Ask him if he had any ancestors 
who worked with Curtis.

1005
00:50:56,300 --> 00:50:58,833
She came back the next day 
and she said, yeah, he did.

1006
00:50:58,933 --> 00:51:01,366
His name was Bull Bear.

1007
00:51:01,466 --> 00:51:04,100
And I said that sounds 
kind of familiar

1008
00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:06,866
but I'm not connecting with it. 
Ask him again, would you?

1009
00:51:06,966 --> 00:51:10,766
She went back to him and 
said--actually his name is Bear 
Bull.

1010
00:51:10,866 --> 00:51:13,633
That was the first 
photograph I purchased.

1011
00:51:13,733 --> 00:51:16,000
The woman was the 
first photograph I saw.

1012
00:51:16,100 --> 00:51:18,266
A day later I was in 
Boulder and found people

1013
00:51:18,366 --> 00:51:21,200
at the archive, 
and I purchased that.

1014
00:51:21,300 --> 00:51:24,200
Okay, it gives me 
chills thinking that

1015
00:51:24,300 --> 00:51:26,866
after 42 or 3 
years of doing this

1016
00:51:26,966 --> 00:51:30,066
and floating through 
time and space,

1017
00:51:30,166 --> 00:51:33,233
not having idea that Art 
existed, nor he that I existed,

1018
00:51:33,333 --> 00:51:37,900
and then being brought 
together by this work,

1019
00:51:38,000 --> 00:51:40,400
it was really fabulous.

1020
00:51:40,500 --> 00:51:42,266
And he's obviously 
pretty happy about it.

1021
00:51:42,366 --> 00:51:45,433
We had a great time 
with each other,

1022
00:51:45,533 --> 00:51:47,600
and, yeah, it was great.

1023
00:51:48,600 --> 00:51:51,200
We've also been doing many 
more contemporary exhibits.

1024
00:51:51,300 --> 00:51:54,800
So the exhibit you're seeing 
here is purely vintage work.

1025
00:51:54,900 --> 00:51:57,333
And the vintage work 
has gotten so expensive

1026
00:51:57,433 --> 00:52:00,166
and so valuable and so 
difficult to replace

1027
00:52:00,266 --> 00:52:01,966
that I'm not actually 
going to be doing

1028
00:52:02,066 --> 00:52:05,066
vintage exhibitions 
past this winter.

1029
00:52:05,166 --> 00:52:09,100
This show goes to Ohio, 
to Capital University,

1030
00:52:09,200 --> 00:52:11,066
and then that's it for me.

1031
00:52:11,166 --> 00:52:14,700
I'm 70, I'm going to rest 
on my laurels for a while

1032
00:52:14,800 --> 00:52:17,133
and stop doing the 
vintage exhibitions.

1033
00:52:17,233 --> 00:52:19,533
They're just too 
expensive, too difficult,

1034
00:52:19,633 --> 00:52:22,466
too time consuming, 
too much management.

1035
00:52:22,566 --> 00:52:25,500
But we are doing, trying to 
do more contemporary exhibits.

1036
00:52:25,600 --> 00:52:30,933
So this exhibit which was at 
the library in Minneapolis.

1037
00:52:31,033 --> 00:52:33,900
This exhibit we 
had a guest book,

1038
00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:36,300
and I was really-- 
They had more visitors

1039
00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:39,000
come to this exhibit than 
any previous exhibit.

1040
00:52:39,100 --> 00:52:43,766
More visitors of color, 
more Native people, 
come to this exhibit.

1041
00:52:43,866 --> 00:52:45,566
It was a huge success.

1042
00:52:45,666 --> 00:52:48,633
I'm going through 
the guest book.

1043
00:52:48,733 --> 00:52:52,633
I'm seeing all these really 
eloquent erudite comments.

1044
00:52:52,733 --> 00:52:55,533
People from Australia, 
from Russia, Scandinavia.

1045
00:52:55,633 --> 00:52:59,833
They're talking about 
personal identity, 
about cultural identity.

1046
00:52:59,933 --> 00:53:02,900
They're talking about history 
and repeating the stakes

1047
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:04,666
and how we need 
to learn from it.

1048
00:53:04,766 --> 00:53:07,633
I mean, really 
great, great themes.

1049
00:53:07,733 --> 00:53:09,500
And I was very moved by them.

1050
00:53:09,600 --> 00:53:11,866
I think it was almost 
next to the last thing

1051
00:53:11,966 --> 00:53:14,066
was someone from Russia.

1052
00:53:14,166 --> 00:53:17,466
Again, very interesting 
eloquent comment.

1053
00:53:17,566 --> 00:53:19,533
And I'm feeling very 
moved by it all.

1054
00:53:19,633 --> 00:53:21,600
And then I opened this page.

1055
00:53:26,866 --> 00:53:28,100
Yeah.

1056
00:53:28,200 --> 00:53:30,133
I'm like, okay.

1057
00:53:30,233 --> 00:53:32,333
However many nights 
I didn't get sleep

1058
00:53:32,433 --> 00:53:34,700
and whatever else over 
the last 45 years,

1059
00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:37,600
this is the kind of thing 
that makes it all worthwhile.

1060
00:53:37,700 --> 00:53:39,766
So as I mentioned 
earlier we've sent

1061
00:53:39,866 --> 00:53:41,533
exhibitions to 40 countries.

1062
00:53:41,633 --> 00:53:43,533
This is Seoul, South Korea.

1063
00:53:45,400 --> 00:53:47,766
Gold tone like you see up there.

1064
00:53:49,266 --> 00:53:52,733
I briefly mentioned 
that we have recreated

1065
00:53:52,833 --> 00:53:56,566
Curtis' entire 
2,200 photographs,

1066
00:53:56,666 --> 00:53:59,600
two-and-a-half million word, 
hand colored prints,

1067
00:53:59,700 --> 00:54:01,933
transcriptions of 
language and music.

1068
00:54:02,033 --> 00:54:03,733
We've spent the last four years

1069
00:54:03,833 --> 00:54:07,100
and 40,000 hours 
recreating these.

1070
00:54:07,200 --> 00:54:09,033
And I just work 
with a foundation,

1071
00:54:09,133 --> 00:54:11,266
a couple of friends of 
mine, and then myself,

1072
00:54:11,366 --> 00:54:15,766
and we just donated 
15 complete sets,

1073
00:54:15,866 --> 00:54:18,733
photographs and a DVD 
to tribal colleges.

1074
00:54:18,833 --> 00:54:20,700
And I'm hoping to 
do more of those

1075
00:54:20,800 --> 00:54:22,766
as funds become available.

1076
00:54:25,133 --> 00:54:29,366
I don't think I ever didn't 
appreciate what Curtis did.

1077
00:54:29,466 --> 00:54:32,000
But if I ever was so 
stupid to not appreciate

1078
00:54:32,100 --> 00:54:35,166
the complexity and efforts 
that he had to go through,

1079
00:54:35,266 --> 00:54:36,633
boy, I'm a believer now.

1080
00:54:36,733 --> 00:54:39,133
He even fold out 
maps in these books.

1081
00:54:39,233 --> 00:54:41,100
I mean, it's just amazing.

1082
00:54:42,500 --> 00:54:44,500
Occasionally during the 
question and answer period,

1083
00:54:44,600 --> 00:54:46,733
people want to know how 
I ended up in Mexico

1084
00:54:46,833 --> 00:54:50,000
and how again what my 
connection to this work was.

1085
00:54:50,100 --> 00:54:54,000
And this is it, 
a professor of mine in 1971

1086
00:54:54,100 --> 00:54:56,100
asked me to go to 
Mexico to make the film.

1087
00:54:56,200 --> 00:54:57,633
The film never happened.

1088
00:54:57,733 --> 00:55:00,833
I just driven 75 hours 
after saving money

1089
00:55:00,933 --> 00:55:02,733
for five months to 
have enough money

1090
00:55:02,833 --> 00:55:04,900
to go down and help 
work on the film.

1091
00:55:05,000 --> 00:55:06,733
The film I got, 
I found this door

1092
00:55:06,833 --> 00:55:09,433
in this little tiny town 
in the mountains of Oaxaca.

1093
00:55:09,533 --> 00:55:12,466
Allen comes through it and 
says, "Oh Chris, I should've 
called or written you.

1094
00:55:12,566 --> 00:55:14,666
"I decided not 
to make the film."

1095
00:55:16,333 --> 00:55:19,266
And I was a little 
disappointed but I said, okay,

1096
00:55:19,366 --> 00:55:21,066
I've been promised a 
log cabin to live in.

1097
00:55:21,166 --> 00:55:22,933
He said, "Oh, well some 
other friend showed up."

1098
00:55:23,033 --> 00:55:25,133
And I said, okay, how 
long are they here?

1099
00:55:25,233 --> 00:55:26,900
"They're here for 
another two weeks."

1100
00:55:27,000 --> 00:55:29,000
Okay, is there a hotel in town?

1101
00:55:29,100 --> 00:55:31,633
There is one nine-room hotel

1102
00:55:31,733 --> 00:55:34,433
run by the most wonderful,

1103
00:55:35,433 --> 00:55:39,333
three spinster sisters 
who are just fabulous.

1104
00:55:39,433 --> 00:55:43,000
And they took me in and I spent 
the next week and a half there.

1105
00:55:43,100 --> 00:55:46,800
And then I came back and I said, 
well, what else can I do?

1106
00:55:46,900 --> 00:55:50,333
So, Allen, I'm here, 
I'm planning on 
being here for months

1107
00:55:50,433 --> 00:55:52,233
and I've got my 10-year-old 
Volkswagen Beetle

1108
00:55:52,333 --> 00:55:54,533
and all my camera equipment, 
what am I going to do?

1109
00:55:54,633 --> 00:55:56,166
He said, "I know 
there's this village

1110
00:55:56,266 --> 00:55:58,866
"about 60 miles from here, 
why don't you check it out?"

1111
00:55:58,966 --> 00:56:00,400
So I went up.

1112
00:56:00,500 --> 00:56:03,466
I spent six months there 
over the next year.

1113
00:56:03,566 --> 00:56:07,766
And this is a woman, Otilla 
and her niece and nephew.

1114
00:56:08,633 --> 00:56:10,433
This is an Easter procession.

1115
00:56:11,433 --> 00:56:14,400
So it was a 
breathtaking experience,

1116
00:56:14,500 --> 00:56:17,500
and I had never seen 
Curtis' work at this point.

1117
00:56:17,600 --> 00:56:21,166
So unbeknownst to 
me I was doing,

1118
00:56:21,266 --> 00:56:23,266
I was really following 
his footpaths.

1119
00:56:23,366 --> 00:56:26,700
So I not only did thousands 
and thousands of negatives,

1120
00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:28,600
I sepia toned them 
which was something

1121
00:56:28,700 --> 00:56:32,266
I did experimenting with 
in school before this.

1122
00:56:32,366 --> 00:56:34,266
I collected material culture,

1123
00:56:34,366 --> 00:56:37,133
did sound recordings 
and did film footage.

1124
00:56:37,233 --> 00:56:38,566
All the things that Curtis--

1125
00:56:38,666 --> 00:56:40,566
I didn't do any of 
it anywhere as deeply

1126
00:56:40,666 --> 00:56:43,366
or as well as Curtis, 
but it was the same path.

1127
00:56:43,466 --> 00:56:45,300
And so that will explain to you

1128
00:56:45,400 --> 00:56:49,766
when I got to that little 
bookstore in Albuquerque,

1129
00:56:49,866 --> 00:56:53,033
months and months later, 
why I still remember

1130
00:56:53,133 --> 00:56:54,833
what shelf that book was on.

1131
00:56:54,933 --> 00:56:58,033
I mean it was like this 
is what I've been doing

1132
00:56:58,133 --> 00:56:59,866
and here it is.

1133
00:56:59,966 --> 00:57:01,966
Last slide.

1134
00:57:02,066 --> 00:57:04,333
This is Curtis just 
before his death.

1135
00:57:05,633 --> 00:57:07,700
And to me it's so poignant.

1136
00:57:08,700 --> 00:57:11,366
A woman had written 
to him in 1951,

1137
00:57:11,466 --> 00:57:12,700
one year before his death.

1138
00:57:12,800 --> 00:57:15,000
He was 83, and asked 
for his autograph.

1139
00:57:15,100 --> 00:57:17,100
She was an autograph collector.

1140
00:57:17,200 --> 00:57:20,633
It's a little hard to read 
his writing, which was 
quite shaky at this point.

1141
00:57:20,733 --> 00:57:24,266
But he made this 
photograph of himself

1142
00:57:24,366 --> 00:57:26,733
and then sent it back 
with his autograph.

1143
00:57:26,833 --> 00:57:28,666
And when you look 
at his early works,

1144
00:57:28,766 --> 00:57:31,133
some of which you'll see 
here his early letters,

1145
00:57:31,233 --> 00:57:32,966
they were all done in really

1146
00:57:33,066 --> 00:57:37,833
beautiful hand-made paper for 
a simple one-sided letter.

1147
00:57:37,933 --> 00:57:41,833
He would take a piece of paper 
and fold it over, deckled edges,

1148
00:57:41,933 --> 00:57:43,666
and beautiful envelopes.

1149
00:57:43,766 --> 00:57:46,833
Everything was done so 
elegantly and so beautifully,

1150
00:57:46,933 --> 00:57:49,700
and here's a simple 
photograph of him

1151
00:57:49,800 --> 00:57:52,133
towards the end of his life 
and the shaky hand writing.

1152
00:57:52,233 --> 00:57:54,366
But he is reaching out to 
this woman very kindly.

1153
00:57:55,233 --> 00:57:57,066
That's it.

1154
00:57:57,166 --> 00:58:00,233
(audience applauding)