Flat, White Nothingness?
This chapter considers Subhankar Banerjee’s unlikely path to Arctic activism. An Indian-born photographer, Banerjee spent much of 2001 and 2002 in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, taking photographs during all four seasons. In 2003, an exhibition of his photographs at the Smithsonian Institution...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Book Part |
Language: | English |
Published: |
University of North Carolina Press
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469661100.003.0022 |
id |
crunivncaropr:10.5149/northcarolina/9781469661100.003.0022 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crunivncaropr:10.5149/northcarolina/9781469661100.003.0022 2024-06-09T07:41:46+00:00 Flat, White Nothingness? Dunaway, Finis 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469661100.003.0022 en eng University of North Carolina Press Defending the Arctic Refuge page 193-208 ISBN 9781469661100 9781469661124 book-chapter 2021 crunivncaropr https://doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469661100.003.0022 2024-05-14T13:13:08Z This chapter considers Subhankar Banerjee’s unlikely path to Arctic activism. An Indian-born photographer, Banerjee spent much of 2001 and 2002 in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, taking photographs during all four seasons. In 2003, an exhibition of his photographs at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History sparked an unexpected controversy, leading to charges of government censorship. The chapter weaves together Banerjee’s life story with discussions of his approach to photography—including his efforts to render nature in mono- or bi-chromatic color schemes—and of the relationships he built with Gwich’in and Iñupiat communities. Like Lenny Kohm, Banerjee learned that the Arctic Refuge fight was a struggle for Indigenous rights and cultural survival. More than any previous artist and activist, Banerjee—through his photographs of caribou and migratory birds—helped viewers appreciate the transnational significance of the Arctic Refuge, both with and beyond North America. In addition, the chapter explains how Banerjee’s show was revived by the California Academy of Sciences and then toured the United States for two years and how he moved into grassroots activism, including slide show tours with Gwich’in and Iñupiat leaders. Book Part Arctic Arctic Gwich’in UNC Press (The University of North Carolina) Arctic Indian 193 208 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
UNC Press (The University of North Carolina) |
op_collection_id |
crunivncaropr |
language |
English |
description |
This chapter considers Subhankar Banerjee’s unlikely path to Arctic activism. An Indian-born photographer, Banerjee spent much of 2001 and 2002 in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, taking photographs during all four seasons. In 2003, an exhibition of his photographs at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History sparked an unexpected controversy, leading to charges of government censorship. The chapter weaves together Banerjee’s life story with discussions of his approach to photography—including his efforts to render nature in mono- or bi-chromatic color schemes—and of the relationships he built with Gwich’in and Iñupiat communities. Like Lenny Kohm, Banerjee learned that the Arctic Refuge fight was a struggle for Indigenous rights and cultural survival. More than any previous artist and activist, Banerjee—through his photographs of caribou and migratory birds—helped viewers appreciate the transnational significance of the Arctic Refuge, both with and beyond North America. In addition, the chapter explains how Banerjee’s show was revived by the California Academy of Sciences and then toured the United States for two years and how he moved into grassroots activism, including slide show tours with Gwich’in and Iñupiat leaders. |
format |
Book Part |
author |
Dunaway, Finis |
spellingShingle |
Dunaway, Finis Flat, White Nothingness? |
author_facet |
Dunaway, Finis |
author_sort |
Dunaway, Finis |
title |
Flat, White Nothingness? |
title_short |
Flat, White Nothingness? |
title_full |
Flat, White Nothingness? |
title_fullStr |
Flat, White Nothingness? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Flat, White Nothingness? |
title_sort |
flat, white nothingness? |
publisher |
University of North Carolina Press |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469661100.003.0022 |
geographic |
Arctic Indian |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Indian |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Gwich’in |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Gwich’in |
op_source |
Defending the Arctic Refuge page 193-208 ISBN 9781469661100 9781469661124 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469661100.003.0022 |
container_start_page |
193 |
op_container_end_page |
208 |
_version_ |
1801370391570022400 |