Arikara Medicine Ceremony - the Ducks 1908

Edward Curtis made this photograph, Arikara Medicine Ceremony - the Ducks, probably in the early 20th century. It's a sepia-toned gelatin silver print, and the first thing that strikes me is its stillness. You can almost feel the dust in the air and hear the quiet shuffling of feet as these figures move through the landscape. I wonder what Curtis was thinking when he made it. Was he just documenting, or was there a more profound exchange happening? Look at the way the light catches the wispy plants the dancers are holding—it’s like the whole scene is breathing. There’s a beautiful sense of movement, a dance frozen in time, but still so alive. In a way, this photograph reminds me of some of my own paintings. It’s about capturing a moment, an essence, and letting the viewer fill in the rest. We, too, are just moving through the landscape.