Lewis and Nathan Clark and the Evolution of Sierra Club Photography, 1924-1961
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University of Nevada, Reno Activity and Activism: Lewis and Nathan Clark and the Evolution of Sierra Club Photography, 1924-1961 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History by Kimberly J. Roberts Dr. C. Elizabeth Raymond, Thesis Advisor May 2013 Copyright by Kimberly J. Roberts 2013 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE SCHOOL We recommend that the thesis prepared under our supervision by KIMBERLY J. ROBERTS entitled Activity and Activism: Lewis and Nathan Clark and the Evolution of Sierra Club Photography, 1924-1961 be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS C. Elizabeth Raymond, Advisor William D. Rowley , Committee Member Bruce T. Moran, Committee Member Peter Goin, Graduate School Representative Marsha H. Read, Ph. D., Dean, Graduate School May, 2013 i Abstract Using the photography of Sierra Club members Lewis and Nathan Clark, this thesis explores the relationship between image and landscape in the rise of outdoor recreation in early and mid twentieth century America. Focusing on the role of photography in the construction, articulation, and representation of landscape, I trace two concurrent shifts in Sierra Club history. First, I examine how the Sierra Club members, who originally used images to write and record their own history, began to deploy those images as part of public awareness campaigns. Second, I analyze how the Sierra Club shifted from a social club using landscape as a hub for recreational activity to a political club using notions of landscape to campaign for environmental causes. By analyzing how the Sierra Club published and disseminated a set of cultural values through the medium of photography and by connecting these values to the construction of a physical landscape, this thesis examines the co-evolution of image, activity, and place as a form of social practice shared within a community and broadcast outward. By explicitly avoiding the limiting and passive paradigm of consumption and advertising that has become prevalent in cultural landscape studies of this type through a focus on landscapes as finished products or static images, I offer new methodological considerations as a means to access amateur photography and tourist imagery. ii Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. ii Chapter One: Introduction – “Inspiration Point Reached” .............................................................. 1 Chapter Two: Access and Preservation—“To Explore, Enjoy, and Render Accessible” .............. 17 Chapter Three: The Clark Slide Collection – “Recording for those who have been there”........... 29 Chapter Four: The High Trips—“William E. Colby, left; Clair S. Tappaan, right” ...................... 36 Chapter Five: Art and Experience—the Intertwining of Photography and Activity ...................... 41 “Peak 13,067” ............................................................................................................................ 42 “The ‘Impassable’ Notch” ......................................................................................................... 46 “On Top of the North Peak of North Palisade” ......................................................................... 52 “Francis P. Farquhar Roping Down a Ledge Traverse on North Palisade” ............................... 56 “Knife Edge in Crest South of Bernice Lake” ........................................................................... 57 “Ice Cave, Upper Rush Creek” .................................................................................................. 58 Chapter Six: Documenting the Landscape—“Pictures of Special Interest not Found Elsewhere” 61 Chapter Seven: First Winter Ascent of Mt. Lyell .......................................................................... 66 Chapter Eight: Lyell Revisited ....................................................................................................... 74 Chapter Nine: The Tenaya Canyon Exhibit—“A Wild Impassible Gorge” .................................. 76 Chapter Ten: The Visual Education Committee ............................................................................ 85 Chapter Eleven: Highways and Contested Landscapes ................................................................. 88 Chapter Twelve: The Sierra Club Slide Library—“Interpreting for those who have not been there” .............................................................................................................................................. 97 Chapter Thirteen: Photographs and Public Outreach—“Sugar-coated Propaganda” .................. 104 Conclusion: “Amid the Mighty Walls of Zion” ........................................................................... 108 iii List of Figures Figure 1: Lewis Clark at Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, ca. 1924 ....................... 1 Figure 2: Typical Vacation Photographs ............................................................................ 3 Figure 3: Cardboard dividers for synchronized series ...................................................... 16 Figure 4: These images show the how roads function as access points into seemingly pristine wilderness ............................................................................................................ 17 Figure 5: This image, with Lewis on the right, shows the construction work involved in developing recreational wilderness landscapes. ............................................................... 22 Figure 6: Approach and preparation—driving to road head, unloading cars, etc, typical packs, contents. ................................................................................................................. 30 Figure 7: Along the trails .................................................................................................. 30 Figure 8: People in passes, on peaks ................................................................................. 31 Figure 9: Pack strings and burros...................................................................................... 31 Figure 10: Wildlife ............................................................................................................ 31 Figure 11: In camp—fires, cooking, eating, ..................................................................... 32 Figure 12: The scene—unusually fine scenics, abstractions conveying sense of wilderness beauty ................................................................................................................................ 32 Figure 13: Awful pictures and shockers—results of carelessness, miscellaneous vandalism, etc. Note: as an image of Hetch-Hetchy, this photograph symbolizes this concept. ............................................................................................................................. 33 Figure 14: Misc—educational ‘how to do it’ sequences .................................................. 33 Figure 15: Humor—if real and understandable ................................................................ 34 Figure 16: William E. Colby, left; Clair S. Tappaan, right ............................................... 36 Figure 17: North face of Peak 13067 ................................................................................ 42 Figure 18: Crest of Peak 13067, French Creek Canyon ................................................... 45 Figure 19: "Impassable" notch on North Palisade looking NE. ....................................... 46 Figure 20: Top of North Peak of North Palisade; Jules Eichorn and Bob Underhill; Farquhar Palisade Party; Aug 1931. ................................................................................ 52 Figure 21: Sierra Nevada: the John Muir Trail. Photograph by Ansel Adams ................. 53 Figure 22: FPF roping down a ledge traverse on summit of North Palisade ................... 56 Figure 23: Knife edge in crest south of Bernice Lake. Yosemite Park. ............................ 57 Figure 24: Ice cave, Upper Rush Creek Basin; LFC, V Ferguson, V Adams .................. 58 Figure 25: Scan of a Level 3 Ski Badge, private collection of George Homsey. ............. 66 Figure 26: Group of Skiers ............................................................................................... 67 Figure 27: Winter Camp ................................................................................................... 68 Figure 28: Winter Mountaineering ................................................................................... 69 Figure 29: Summit ............................................................................................................ 70 Figure 30: Mt. Lyell Summit Register .............................................................................. 71 Figure 31: Signing Register .............................................................................................. 71 Figure 32: Register, close up ............................................................................................ 72 Figure 33: The branch post office in the gorge. Photocopy of notes left at Register Rock, Tenaya Canyon. ................................................................................................................ 76 iv Figure 34: These road images stress the mechanics of road design, showing embankments, cutbacks, and ripped out trees,