Scene

Joslyn showcases changes and expansion of West

β€œThe GreatΒ West Illustrated” exhibit, currentlyΒ residing in GalleryΒ 11 of the Joslyn Art Museum on 24th and Dodge streets, is calling all aboard before it departs on Sept. 16.

This incredible exhibit, which was 150 years in the making, is free to Creighton students with the presentation of a student ID. AΒ combination of 50 photos displays the nearly untouched western front in contrast to the newly laid tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad that stretched from Omaha, Neb. through Utah where it would connect with the Central Pacific Railroad. All photographs in the exhibit are the work of Andrew J. Russell.

I thoroughly enjoyed the perspective that I got by looking at the pictures. Initially, as someone who has very little experience with the western half of the United States, I was struck by the size of everything. The juxtaposition of massive boulders and 2,000 feet deep gorges that dwarfed the nearby group of men gave me a new appreciation for nature.

Additionally, in many of his photographs Russell makes the distinction between theΒ worn down, rocky landscape of the primarily desert area where the railroad track was laid and the new, sharpness of the lines from the railroad tracks and the rigid edges of the engines and boxcars.

One of my favorite photographs from the exhibit was entitled β€œHigh Bluff, Black Buttes.” In the photograph, you could see the railroad men climbing the rocky towers along with their mules. You could tell just from the photograph the sense of camaraderie amongst the men as they helped each other climb.

I was also pleasantly surprised by theΒ amount of literature provided by the museum. Along with the usual pamphlets giving background information about Russell and the Union Pacific Railroad, the Joslyn Art Museum provides a family friendly packet to include younger children in the exhibit and teach basic elements of photography. The exhibit made sure to inform all who visited the museum and made it difficult to leave the exhibit without having learned anything.

I was also really impressed with the layout of the gallery in comparison to nearby exhibits. The exhibit directly adjacent to β€œThe Great West Illustrated” featured a series of paintings that, at first glance, look like scenic landscape paintings, but at a closer look are bold statements on deforestation and urban development’s impact on the environment.

The museum also features the more recent work of photographer Mark Ruwedel. Ruwedel revisited the western front in 1996 and 2005 and shot many of the same sites that Russell had over a century earlier. There was definitely a distinct difference between the works of the two photographers which helped highlight how the front itself has changed over the century. While Ruwedel’s photographs did not capture particularly urban areas of the western half of the country, the evolution of the landscape is still evident.

The project began in July 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act. Russell, along with a handful of other photographers, followed the engineers out to document the progress of the railroads that captured the attention of the nation. While he was out photographing, he made sure to photograph the agricultural as well as commercial scenes as opposed to the scenic landscapes that many other photographers made an effort to capture.

To satisfy the growing interest of western expansion by Americans on the east half of the nation, Russell compiled 20 books of his works which ended up in the hands of important legislators, investors and employees of the railroad. The exhibit included photos from the books as well as loose, unique prints not included in the original bound books.

View the Print Edition

May 2, 2025

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