Timothy Egan tells the story behind the most famous photographs in Native American history—and the driven, brilliant man who made them, Edward Curtis. In Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher is a portrait of the photographer and his Great Idea: to capture on film the continent’s original inhabitants before the old ways disappeared. Curtis took more than 40,000 photographs, preserved 10,000 audio recordings, and is credited with making the first narrative documentary film, creating a definitive archive of the American Indian.
Guests:
Timothy Egan
About The Leonard Lopate Show
Host Leonard Lopate lets you in on the best conversations with writers, actors, ex-presidents, dancers, scientists, comedians, historians, grammarians, curators, filmmakers, and do-it-yourself experts.
Hosted by Leonard Lopate
Links
- 2012 Election Coverage
- 25 Years of Lopate
- American History XX
- Backstory
- Food Fridays
- Globavores: Food Travels Around The World Since 1492
- Guest Hosts
- Guest Picks
- Please Explain
- The Gurus of How-To
- The Leonard Lopate Show Book Club
- The Lodown
- The Story of New York in 10 Objects
- Tributes
- Underappreciated
- Underreported
- Web Extras
- Word Maven: Patricia T. O'Conner
Show Archive
Show Archive
Comments [5]
How about the very interesting and controversial practice of removing "modern" elements from his negatives to achieve a heightened authenticity.
This was something that Curtis did often. Including staging ceremonies that were no longer practiced.
Great book! Very interesting topic!!
This is certainly not an original thought, but these beautiful photographs are very idealized and ignore the quotidian realities of the disastrous poverty stricken life on the reservation.
Mr Egan referred twice in this interview to Bird having "spoken the language" and how helpful this was to Curtis. Which language, exactly? Native peoples did not have one language that everyone used. There were many peoples and many languages.
Never found the 'slide show' of the Curtis Images - promised by Leonard.
Where is it?
I love Timothy Egan's columns in The NY Times- always read them first thing and forward on to my family on the west coast. Always nails it exactly when it comes to politics.
I'll look forward to reading this book.
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.