Many of the public displays surrounding the 200th anniversary of the Corps of Discovery — the official name of the 1804 Lewis and Clark expedition — focus on the romantic. And, indeed, there is much to romanticize.
There are the characters — the political Jefferson, the pragmatic Clark and the angst-ridden Lewis; their goal — a commercial and military venture into the unknown; and the accomplishments — nothing less than the opening of a continent. The factors combine for an adventure of success that surpasses any other exploration in our history.
In a photography show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Greg MacGregor demonstrates aptly that he knows from romantic. Having made that point, his photographic re-creation of the Lewis and Clark expedition concentrates on what’s along that trail today. His camera doesn’t blink in front of the decidedly unromantic legacy.
"Lewis and Clark Revisited: A Trail in Modern Day Photographs by Greg MacGregor" runs through Feb. 6 in the Julien Levy Gallery. It is the museum’s contribution to a citywide bicentennial celebration of the ultimate road trip. The show comprises some 60 black-and-white photographs taken along the original route over a six-year period. It includes excerpts from the explorers’ journals and seeks to document the transformation of the West since the early 19th century.
"It was important for me to get back to the locations mentioned in the journals but, once there, I looked for contemporary overlay on that historic site," MacGregor writes. "There have been excellent photographic documents in the past. However, in each of these treatments, the route of the expeditions was depicted as it looked when the captains passed through. In order to do something different, I chose to seek out as much as possible those places which exhibited change."
And so there are images such as a magnificent river bend with a striking cliff hovering over a sign that prohibits camping and fireworks. Wondrous skyscapes with utility poles in the foreground, artificial buffalo advertising roadside eateries, steel bridges spanning what was once open water and tourist re-creations of Indian settlements are side by side with traditionally tasteful landscapes. In his six years of work, MacGregor traveled the entire route twice and took more than 2,000 pictures.
"For inspiration, before each outing I would read my favorite passages from the journals to help keep a fresh eye and attitude," the photographer writes.
The contrasts are sometimes startlingly bleak, but they are saved by a certain sense of dignity for the human contribution to the landscape.
As Katherine Ware, the museum’s curator of photography and coordinator of the show, noted, "By recording the contemporary imprint of power lines, bridges and convenience stores, he presents an unflinching view of the development of the American landscape over two centuries."
MacGregor has an unusual background in that he is both a master photographer and a master of physics and he’s taught both subjects at the university level. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the French National Library.
There are a number of Lewis and Clark exhibitions throughout the city in tribute to the Philadelphia connections.
At the turn of the 19th century, Philadelphia was the center of learning and education. Jefferson, who commissioned the expedition ostensibly to find a Northwest Passage — a non-existent waterway to the Pacific Ocean — was president of the American Philosophical Society at the time. He sent Lewis to Philadelphia for crash courses in botany, medicine, navigation, astronomy and the collection of specimens. Lewis also outfitted the Corps from Philadelphia stores and even purchased air rifles, portable scientific devices and weather monitors.
The centerpiece historical exhibition, "Lewis and Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition" is currently at the Academy of Natural Sciences. It will run through March 20 and includes hundreds of items original to the Corps of Discovery. Many of them were lent to the national touring show by Philadelphia institutions.
Over the winter months, a popular one-two punch will include a visit to the Academy of Natural Sciences for a feel for the actual characters and events, and then a visit to the Museum of Art, where MacGregor’s photography will bring the viewer up to the present. Sort of the romantic and the unromantic. Yin and yang.
Lewis and Clark Revisited: A Trail in Modern Day Photographs by Greg MacGregor
through Feb. 6
Philadelphia Museum of Art
26th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
215-684-7500
www.philamuseum.org
Adults, $10; seniors (62+), $7; students with valid ID, $7; ages 13-18, $7; 12 and under, free; Sundays, pay what you wish
