You are about to enter the Mirror of Race online
exhibition of early photographs. The theme of the exhibition is race
in the United States, and our goal is to break open the historical meaning
of “race” for viewers to
examine as an idea that is, or should be, questionable.
We have organized
this exhibition according to a fundamental principle of the Mirror of
Race project: that viewers should be able to examine the images without
immediately being told what they are seeing. The point is to allow viewers
to reflect upon their own ways of seeing and then to compare their reflections
with what we in fact know about the image.
So what you will see when
you first enter the exhibition is an array of images. You can click on
any one of these images to view a larger version of it, but at first
you will be told nothing about the image. You will then find links providing
you with basic information, more specific historical discussion as well
as critical commentary on each image.