Seeing Empires
Multiple Courses
School of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Pier Celestino Gilardi
A Visit to the Gallery
oil on canvas
48 in x 40 3/8 in (121.92 cm x 102.55 cm);48 in x 40 3/8 in (121.92 cm x 102.55 cm)
Bequest of Henry C. Lewis
Visual culture plays a powerful role in shaping our beliefs and ideas. Images can seem neutral while in fact they present particular points of view, interpretations, and judgments. Throughout history, people have used visual culture to create and broadcast disturbing and dangerous representations and stereotypes that persist even today.
This installation explores the visual language of European colonialism and empire through the lenses of race, class, and gender. The selected artworks allow students from a variety of disciplines to work with different methods of analyzing visual culture, including those of postcolonial studies, intersectional theory, and animal studies. The goal is to enable students to explore the ways that empires represent people and depict them according to a particular, hierarchical, worldview.
We invite you to explore these works yourself. You can start anywhere. Pick something that catches your eye. Take a deeper look and let your eye move where it will. Consider how the meaning of the first point of encounter shifts. Here are some questions for you to consider as you follow your own path:
- What similarities and differences do you see in the subjects’ poses, dress, interactions, and surroundings?
- What do the works alone and in combination say about the race and ethnicity, gender, and social class of the subjects?
- What stories of control, fascination, and appropriation do these historical misrepresentations tell?
- How are depictions of animals implicated in the cultural politics of identity and power?
Works included in this collection
1983/2.60
Title
Hot Sheep in Powder River Badlands
Artist(s)
Laton Alton Huffman
Object Creation Date
1884
Medium & Support
colotype print on paper
Dimensions
7 15/16 in. x 9 15/16 in. ( 20.2 cm x 25.2 cm )
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Michael Fauman
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Hot Sheep in Powder River Badlands
colotype print on paper
7 15/16 in. x 9 15/16 in. ( 20.2 cm x 25.2 cm )
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Michael Fauman
1895.80
Title
The Attack on an Emigrant Train
Artist(s)
Charles Ferdinand Wimar
Object Creation Date
1856
Medium & Support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
55 1/16 in x 79 1/16 in (139.86 cm x 200.82 cm);64 ¼ in x 88 in x 3 ½ in (163.19 cm x 223.52 cm x 8.89 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Henry C. Lewis
Subject matter
This painting shows a group of Caucasion men and women in a wagon train traveling across a prairie. The horses carrying the wagon train seem frantic, as men on the wagon train have rifles pointed towards and incoming crowd of angry Native Americans, who have bows and arrows pointed towards the wagon train.
Physical Description
This painting shows a train wagon filled with people in the foreground, and many train wagons following in the background. The train wagon and the people in it are being attacked by people on horses with tribal headwears and using weapons such as bows and arrows and axes. People in the train wagon are of Caucasion decent and have rifles pointed at those who seem to be Native Americans.
Primary Object Classification
Painting
Primary Object Type
genre
Collection Area
Western
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
The Attack on an Emigrant Train
oil on canvas
55 1/16 in x 79 1/16 in (139.86 cm x 200.82 cm);64 ¼ in x 88 in x 3 ½ in (163.19 cm x 223.52 cm x 8.89 cm)
Bequest of Henry C. Lewis
2013/2.147
Title
Girl on Horse
Artist(s)
Anne Hughes
Object Creation Date
1950-2013
Medium & Support
c-print on paper
Dimensions
16 x 20 in. ( 40.64 x 50.8 cm )
Credit Line
Gift from the Collection of David S. Rosen MD, MPH
Physical Description
A blonde girl standing on top of a horse in a field.
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Primary Object Type
color
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Girl on Horse
c-print on paper
16 x 20 in. ( 40.64 x 50.8 cm )
Gift from the Collection of David S. Rosen MD, MPH
1935.24
Title
Manhunt, from "The American Scene, Series 2"
Artist(s)
John Curry
Object Creation Date
1934
Medium & Support
lithograph on paper
Dimensions
9 13/16 x 12.9 in. (24.92 x 32.86 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Primary Object Classification
Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Manhunt, from "The American Scene, Series 2"
lithograph on paper
9 13/16 x 12.9 in. (24.92 x 32.86 cm)
Museum Purchase
1987/1.194.4
Title
Felix, Gladys and Rover, New York City, from "Master Prints Volume I"
Artist(s)
Elliott Erwitt
Object Creation Date
1974
Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper
Dimensions
19 15/16 in. x 24 in. ( 50.7 cm x 60.9 cm )
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Sobel
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Felix, Gladys and Rover, New York City, from "Master Prints Volume I"
gelatin silver print on paper
19 15/16 in. x 24 in. ( 50.7 cm x 60.9 cm )
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Sobel
2013/2.86
Title
Lincoln, Maw and Shorty
Artist(s)
Shelby Lee Adams
Artist Nationality
American (North American)
Object Creation Date
1992
Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper
Dimensions
11 in x 14 in (27.94 cm x 35.56 cm)
Credit Line
Gift from the Collection of David S. Rosen MD, MPH
Subject matter
Shelby Lee Adams began photographing in the Appalachian mountains in Eastern Kentucky in 1974. Adams grew up in the region, allowing him access to a complex culture outside of mainstream America. In order to meet his subjects, he must be introduced by a friend or neighbor. He works with his subjects for extended periods of times, sometimes working with a single family for years. After each session, he returns with glossy 8" x 10" prints that are often framed and hung on the subjects' walls. Adams uses as many as five artificial light sources and daylight when he shoots, carefully considering composition, and collaborating with his subjects on how they would like to be represented.
Physical Description
A portrait of two men and a dog. The man on the left is wearing a hat and white shirt; he has a large moustache. The older man to the right is wearing a plaid button down shirt.
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Lincoln, Maw and Shorty
gelatin silver print on paper
11 in x 14 in (27.94 cm x 35.56 cm)
Gift from the Collection of David S. Rosen MD, MPH
MORE COURSES IN CURRICULUM / COLLECTION
This section of Curriculum / Collection 2022 developed in collaboration with AAS 290, AAS 271 / ENGLISH 274, HISTORY 222 / JUDAIC 224 / WOMENSTD 224, HISTART 323 / HISTORY 350 / JUDAIC 323 / NEAREAST 383 / RELIGION 324, AAS 458 / AMCULT 601 / HISTORY 698 / JUDAIC 617 / MIDEAST 590, AMCULT 330 / ARABAM 330, GERMAN 731 / HISTORY 796, AAS 395 / GERMAN 396 / HISTORY 396
Exhibition Support
Lead support for this exhibition is provided by the University of Michigan Office of the Provost, Erica Gervais Pappendick and Ted Pappendick, the Eleanor Noyes Crumpacker Endowment Fund, and the Oakriver Foundation.
Click to Continue Exploring Curriculum / Collection
