Shadows on glass: the Indian world of Ben Wittick

Abstract

Shadows on Glass documents the closing days of the Southwest Frontier, a time of irrevocable change for the Indian peoples that Wittick visited: Hualapai and Haraupai; Mohave and Yuma; Apache; Navajo; Pueblos of Acoma, Languan, and Isleta; Zuni; and Hopi. Wittick's photographs, divided into field studies and posed portraits capture the historical, culture, and psychological realities of this transitional era. Although the field studies focus on daily life in the Indian world, the portraits offer greater insight into fundamental truths of Indian life in the Southwest.