Argumentative Essay
In the foreword to Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Pulitzer Prize winning Native American author N. Scott Momaday posits that, "in the hands of an extraordinary artist", photography can cease to be the "static record" of a moment in time and transcend to a "deeper level" of artistic understanding. Momaday makes these claims when discussing the work of renowned photographer Edward S. Curtis, who spent his lifetime perfecting the art of photography while capturing images of Native Americans. Upon examining Edward S. Curtis's photographic work and the effects of photography on American culture from its inception to its use in the modern age, one can clearly see that Momaday's claims of photography carrying not just a medial value but instead possessing a deeper level of artistic power are completely valid. …show more content…
Proof of photography's artistic value is found in Momaday's relation to Edward Curtis’s photographic work. Upon examining this relationship one can see that through artists like Edward Curtis, photography meets all the components of art.
According to Momaday, the Native American way of life is a mixture of reality and primal beauty--an underlying relationship between nature and man. Curtis recognized this beauty in the Native Americans and saw the cultural significance of their swiftly dying race. Painters would have created murals to this historic way of life. Poets would have composed sonnets; however, Curtis was a photographer. His brush was his camera. Therefore, he chose to express his respect and admiration for the fading Plains Indians and share it with the world by capturing it with his own unique artform:
In the foreword to Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Pulitzer Prize winning Native American author N. Scott Momaday posits that, "in the hands of an extraordinary artist", photography can cease to be the "static record" of a moment in time and transcend to a "deeper level" of artistic understanding. Momaday makes these claims when discussing the work of renowned photographer Edward S. Curtis, who spent his lifetime perfecting the art of photography while capturing images of Native Americans. Upon examining Edward S. Curtis's photographic work and the effects of photography on American culture from its inception to its use in the modern age, one can clearly see that Momaday's claims of photography carrying not just a medial value but instead possessing a deeper level of artistic power are completely valid. …show more content…
Proof of photography's artistic value is found in Momaday's relation to Edward Curtis’s photographic work. Upon examining this relationship one can see that through artists like Edward Curtis, photography meets all the components of art.
According to Momaday, the Native American way of life is a mixture of reality and primal beauty--an underlying relationship between nature and man. Curtis recognized this beauty in the Native Americans and saw the cultural significance of their swiftly dying race. Painters would have created murals to this historic way of life. Poets would have composed sonnets; however, Curtis was a photographer. His brush was his camera. Therefore, he chose to express his respect and admiration for the fading Plains Indians and share it with the world by capturing it with his own unique artform: