John K. Hillers Dancers Rock in Walpi
Albumen, mammoth plate
1879
17" x 21" with frame
30 5/8" x 34 5/8” with archival frame
Provenance: Private collection, New Mexico
John K. Hillers began making photographs while exploring the terrain around the Colorado River in 1871. He spent almost twenty years exploring the Indian Territories, California, the Southwest, and the Southeast, eventually producing a sensitive record of Native Americans and their way of life. Hillers' photographs, seen by a wider audience than those of other photographers because of his position with the Bureau of Ethnology and Geological Survey, had a great impact on Americans and on American photography.
Shown here is the "Dance Rock", located in the Hopi village of Walpi. This formation is often a focal point during ceremonial events with Hope dancers and participants performing traditional rituals around it. The connection between the Hopi rituals and their landscape, including the Dancers' Rock, highlights the spiritual and cultural significance of the natural environment in their ceremonies.
This print, done in the albumen photographic process, is an excellent example of what is known as a mammoth plate photograph. Dominant from 1850's to 1890's, albumen, when combined with a mammoth glass plate negative resulted in images of exceptional clarity and scale, which were often used for exhibition or commissioned works.
Albumen, mammoth plate
1879
17" x 21" with frame
30 5/8" x 34 5/8” with archival frame
Provenance: Private collection, New Mexico
John K. Hillers began making photographs while exploring the terrain around the Colorado River in 1871. He spent almost twenty years exploring the Indian Territories, California, the Southwest, and the Southeast, eventually producing a sensitive record of Native Americans and their way of life. Hillers' photographs, seen by a wider audience than those of other photographers because of his position with the Bureau of Ethnology and Geological Survey, had a great impact on Americans and on American photography.
Shown here is the "Dance Rock", located in the Hopi village of Walpi. This formation is often a focal point during ceremonial events with Hope dancers and participants performing traditional rituals around it. The connection between the Hopi rituals and their landscape, including the Dancers' Rock, highlights the spiritual and cultural significance of the natural environment in their ceremonies.
This print, done in the albumen photographic process, is an excellent example of what is known as a mammoth plate photograph. Dominant from 1850's to 1890's, albumen, when combined with a mammoth glass plate negative resulted in images of exceptional clarity and scale, which were often used for exhibition or commissioned works.
Albumen, mammoth plate
1879
17" x 21" with frame
30 5/8" x 34 5/8” with archival frame
Provenance: Private collection, New Mexico
John K. Hillers began making photographs while exploring the terrain around the Colorado River in 1871. He spent almost twenty years exploring the Indian Territories, California, the Southwest, and the Southeast, eventually producing a sensitive record of Native Americans and their way of life. Hillers' photographs, seen by a wider audience than those of other photographers because of his position with the Bureau of Ethnology and Geological Survey, had a great impact on Americans and on American photography.
Shown here is the "Dance Rock", located in the Hopi village of Walpi. This formation is often a focal point during ceremonial events with Hope dancers and participants performing traditional rituals around it. The connection between the Hopi rituals and their landscape, including the Dancers' Rock, highlights the spiritual and cultural significance of the natural environment in their ceremonies.
This print, done in the albumen photographic process, is an excellent example of what is known as a mammoth plate photograph. Dominant from 1850's to 1890's, albumen, when combined with a mammoth glass plate negative resulted in images of exceptional clarity and scale, which were often used for exhibition or commissioned works.