Curator Discusses Link Between Photography and Culture

David R. Odo, a research curator and director of student programs at the Harvard Art Museums, discussed the tie between photography and cultural studies during a lecture and book signing Thursday evening at the University Museum.

Odo pointed out the value of early photography in studying the interaction between Japan and the West in the 19th century, a subject in his new book, "The Journey of 'A Good Type': From Artistry to Ethnography in Early Japanese Photographs."

He argued for a closer relationship between art and scientific study, adding that he believes that more interdisciplinary study can lead to greater insight into human experiences.

David R. Odo, director of student programs at the Harvard Art Museums, speaks to a crowd on Thursday night about the legacy of early Japanese photographs as both art and works of ethnography. During the discussion, Odo also questioned whether photos in the digital age would have the same gravitas as historical photos. By Y. Kit Wu

“The contemporary way of separating things into such discrete disciplines might not be the best approach to thinking about all the work that human beings do,” he said. “Wonderful new things can come from breaking down those barriers and thinking about, in my case, photographs or objects from a lot of different vantage points.”

Odo discussed the inspiration for his book, a photograph by a Western photographer of a Japanese geisha in a kimono that he found at the Peabody Museum archives. The collector, William Sturgis Bigelow, had written on the photograph that it was a “good type” of anthropological print representing Japan.

“He essentially transformed this souvenir or tourist photograph into a scientific image,” Odo said.

He said that this picture caused him to consider the way that the manner and framing of 19th century photography portrayed Western attitudes towards Japan. He added that these photographs staged the Japanese as exotic.

The photographs that Odo studied are also part of an exhibit, “From Artistry to Ethnography in Early Japanese Photographs,” at CGIS.

Portrait artist Bettina K. Burch, who was present at the lecture and had helped Odo design the exhibit, said the experience of helping with the project challenged her to consider photography’s anthropological value.

“It gets me to think about how my art might be viewed in the future,” she said.

Odo’s exhibit at CGIS will run through September 27.