Vanished Kingdoms - Wulsin Photographs of Tibet

Discover feudal kingdoms, isolated rural tribes, and the first known color photographs of hidden Tibetan lamaseries from an expedition made just a few years before this land and its people were changed forever by political and social forces. Created during a 1,300-mile, nine-month-long journey into remote China, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet on foot, mule, camel, and raft, this exhibition’s approximately 40 images reveal the vision of two young American explorers, Janet Elliott Wulsin and Frederick Roelker Wulsin. Faced with the continuing threat of warlords and bandits, violent sandstorms and a lack of water, the Wulsins developed their negatives at night in the field, using makeshift darkrooms. The results are astonishingly beautiful, otherwordly photographs and colored lantern slides, which were then meticulously hand tinted by accomplished artists in Beijing. With watercolor pigment and the smallest of sable brushes, along with their intimate knowledge of local customs, colors and scenery, these Chinese artists interpreted the Wulsins’ images, providing an intriguing juxtaposition of an American photographer’s eye and Chinese design sensibilities.

The exhibition’s scaled laser jet prints, true in color and composition, preserve the originals from light damage and are presented in conjunction with wall texts drawn directly from letters, dairies, and maps tracing the Wulsins’ route.

Pressetext

Vanished Kingdoms
The Wulsin Photographs of Tibet, China & Mongolia 1921-1925