The Haines Sheldon Museum is excited to announce an upcoming evening lecture and panel discussion, “Capturing the Moment: Early Photography in Alaska” on Thursday, May 2nd. This event is offered in coordination with the “1868: Muybridge in Alaska” exhibit currently on display in the Hakkinen Gallery.
The evening begins at 6:30 pm with a lecture given by Jim Simard of Juneau, a retired professional from the Alaska State Library (Historical Records division). Simard will speak about early Alaskan photography, specifically “capsule collections” in which the photographers were embedded in the communities captured in their work. This will lead into a moderated panel discussion beginning at 7:00 pm featuring Simard, John Hagen, and Harriet Brouillete.
The panel will open with a discussion of how capsule collections contrast with the Muybridge photos currently on display, especially given the short duration of time Muybridge spent in Alaska. The speakers will be asked to reflect on how these pictures might be different if the photographer (Muybridge) had been Tlingit or had spent more time with the communities he portrayed. The panel will also touch on the long history of contrived photos of Native Americans in the United States and on the element of propaganda that may be at work.
For those who cannot attend in person, “Capturing the Moment: Early Photography in Alaska” will stream live on the museum’s Facebook page.