Contact: Frank Quimby, 202/208-6416 Anne James, 202 /208-4659
Native American Tradition Highlights Interior Department Photo Exhibit
A new photography exhibit at the U.S. Department of the Interior Museum portrays the beauty and transcendent spirit of Native American life. In Powwow: A View from the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming, Elijah Cobb's photographs of Shoshone and Arapaho dancers merge motion, color, and emotion to portray the "visual extravanganza" of powwows.
Cobb's Powwow images powerfully communicate the dancers' transcendent experience. At powwows, people from diverse Indian nations gather to reconnect and celebrate the traditions of Indian country. For Cobb, a commercial and artistic photographer living in Cody, Wyoming, the intensity of the dance competitions first inspired his photographic interpretations of powwow themes.
Since 1984, he has created a body of work that ranges from realistic to abstract. His photograph of two young girls beginning to learn the traditional dances and songs is as compelling as the image of an older dancer's movements made in trajectories of light and color. Cobb chose the 30-by-40-inch format for the Powwow photographs because it was the largest size he could use without changing to specialized printing equipment.
Cultural centers and museums across the nation have exhibited Cobb's work, including the Plains Indian Museum at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, the Arizona State University Museum of Anthropology in Tempe, and Boston's Children's Museum. The Interior exhibit will continue through March 31, 2001.
Also on exhibt through Sept. 1, 2000, is a selection of photographs entitled Just Eagles from Bill Silliker, Jr. The exhibit features photographs that were recently released in a book of the same title, which documents the eagle's majestic beauty while capturing the everyday movements of this powerful and mysterious raptor. (The book's text is by Alan Hutchinson.)
Whether his images capture eagles at rest or fighting over a perch, in captivity or in the wild, newly hatched or fully matured, Silliker's photographs engender awe. Through his images, the photographer seeks to support the "work to right the wrong" that brought bald eagles to the brink of extinction.Soon after the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1966, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began protecting eagles and their habitats in partnership with many other groups. Recovery efforts by governmental entities (Indian nations, federal, state, and local agencies), non-profit institutions, individuals and corporations have produced a remarkable increase in the number of estimated nesting pairs--from 417 in 1963 to 5,748 today.
Silliker resides in Ocean Park, Maine and specializes in documenting the wildlife of northern forests. His nature photography is well known to both the scientist and outdoor enthusiast, from the publications of National Geographic Books, The Wilderness Society, and Ducks Unlimited, NancyScans Inc. and Nikon Inc. sponsored the exhibit.
Interior's museum is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with the exception of federal holidays, and the third Saturday of each month from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the building, its museum, and the exhibits are free. Adult visitors must present some form of photo identification (such as a driver's license, student ID, or employment card) when entering the Interior Building. The Main Interior Building is located at 1849 C Street, NW, in Washington, D.C. Wheelchair access is available at an entrance on 18th and E Streets. For more information, call 202-208-4743 or visit the museum's Web site at museums.doi.gov/museum/
