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AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CELEBRATES THE CENTENNIAL OF MARGARET MEAD WITH A WORLD OF FAMILIESSpecial Exhibition of Photographs by Ken Heyman Through November 17, 2002
This fall the American Museum of Natural History celebrates the centennial of Margaret Mead's birth and her impact on the field of anthropology, as well as on popular culture, with A World of Families, a special exhibition of photographs by Mead collaborator Ken Heyman that opens at the Museum on November 3, 2001. A scientist, explorer, writer, and teacher, Dr. Mead taught generations of Americans about the value of looking carefully and openly at other cultures to better understand the complexities of being human. Well known as a pioneer in using visual documentation to supplement the scientific record of her fieldwork, Margaret Mead used images—photographs and film—to illustrate the interconnections among all peoples, links that cross cultural boundaries. "Pictures are held together," Dr. Mead wrote, "by a way of looking that has grown out of anthropology, a science in which all peoples, however contrasted in physique and culture, are seen as members of the same species, engaged in solving problems common to humanity." Margaret Mead conducted research at the American Museum of Natural History from 1926 until her death, in 1978. Dr. Mead studied at Barnard College and Columbia University. She was 23 years old when she first traveled to the South Pacific; the resulting book, Coming of Age in Samoa, became an anthropology classic and a best-seller. A curator in the Museum's Department of Anthropology, Dr. Mead also helped create the Hall of Pacific Peoples, which bears her name. Throughout her life, Dr. Mead examined cultures in many regions including New Guinea, Samoa, Bali, and North America.
As a commentator on current social issues, Dr. Mead earned renown that extended beyond the academic world and into popular culture. She made her views known through radio and television appearances, her many best-selling books, and monthly columns she wrote for Redbook magazine. To this day, Dr. Mead has a prominent place in popular culture and remains one of America's best-known scientists. Dr. Mead began working and traveling with Ken Heyman in 1957, a collaboration that would continue until her death. An award-winning photographer whose work has been exhibited at the International Center of Photography and the Museum of Modern Art, Mr. Heyman has authored 54 photography books and shot over 150 assignments for Life magazine. Dr. Mead believed that Mr. Heyman's photographs amplified and complemented her work, especially her interest in families. With A World of Families, the Museum celebrates their 20-year association with an exhibition of nearly 50 black-and-white photographs from Family, a 1965 book by Dr. Mead and Mr. Heyman. This best-selling monograph was nominated for an award by the 1965 Pulitzer Prize committee and was the first photography book chosen as the Book-of-the-Month Club's Alternate Selection. A World of Families—curated by Enid Schildkrout, Chair and Curator of the Museum's Division of Anthropology—immerses visitors in images of everyday life as experienced by people of different generations and cultures. "The thing that I enjoyed most about the book [Family]," wrote Margaret Mead, "was that there was something in it to make a year-old baby smile and something to give tranquility to the weariest old eyes, while those in between could find echoes of the warmest moments in their lives." Dr. Mead and Mr. Heyman selected the images for Family from photographs taken during Mr. Heyman's travels from 1957 to 1964 to nearly 45 countries around the world. The photographs exemplify Margaret Mead's professional interest in the interaction between generations and Heyman's interest in family groups.
The exhibition is organized into seven sections: Mothers, Fathers, Families, Brothers and Sisters, Grandparents, Friends, and The Child Alone. The photographs featured throughout the exhibition come from such diverse cultures as Bali, India, the United States, and China, yet illustrate shared feelings and common events in the interactions between individuals. In addition to A World of Families, the Museum celebrates the 25th anniversary of its acclaimed Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival, November 2-10, 2001. First held in 1977 to mark the world-famous anthropologist's 75th birthday and to pay tribute to her 50-year association with the Museum, the Festival exemplifies Dr. Mead's assertions that it is possible, and important, for societies to learn from each other, and that film is a tool for cross-cultural understanding. Highlights of this year's Mead Festival—the largest and longest-running documentary film festival in the United States—include Spotlight on 25, a special showcase of filmmakers who have made longstanding contributions to documentary cinema; Selections from the Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFF), an assortment of films that explore questions of history, human rights, and identity in Indonesia; and Strange Fruit, a work-in-progress that explores the history and impact of the famed anti-lynching protest song written by New Yorker Abel Meerpol in the late 1930s. |
