'[Dis]Information: American Indians Through the Lens of Roland Reed'

CSPM’s exhibit [Dis]Information: American Indians Through the Lens of Roland Reed includes dozens of pictorialist photographs of American Indians taken by Roland Reed in the early twentieth century.

Reed saw himself as both an artist and an ethnographer; his images are strikingly beautiful but deeply problematic. Reed constructed romantic scenes that situated American Indians in an imagined past versus contemporary reality.

The exhibit encourages visitors to examine the role “retrospective photography” plays in shaping our understanding of American Indians. To accomplish this goal, the CSPM has been honored to work with Gregg Deal, Pyramid Lake Paiute, an extraordinary artist whose work challenges misconceptions of indigenous people and asks viewers to reexamine stereotypes.

[Dis]Information will include original artwork and commentary by Gregg Deal in addition to contemporary American Indian photographs alongside historic images that celebrate the power and beauty of photography while challenging the assumptions of viewers. The exhibit’s long-standing run will end on Saturday, September 12, 2020.