Panama Canal- A Decisive Project in the History of the Americas
Building the Panama Canal—Photographs by Ernest Hallen, on view from through Sunday, November 9, second-floor Works on Paper Gallery, reveals a fascinating story. This technological marvel changed the world’s system of transportation and would have far-reaching economic and political implications. The canal, an impressive achievement completed in 1914, also became a lightning rod. The works in this exhibition date from 1904 to 1915.
Curatorial Assistant Sabrina Hughes is the curator of Building the Panama Canal. The Margaret Acheson Stuart Society is the Major Sponsor of all Museum exhibitions and educational programs. Bill Edwards Presents, Inc. is the 2014 Exhibition Title Sponsor, and the Tampa Bay Times is the Media Sponsor.
The approximately 50 photographs by Ernest “Red” Hallen (1875–1947) in this show observe the Panama Canal’s Centennial and focus on the dramatic changes to the area during its construction. In 1907, Hallen, at 32, was appointed the official photographer by the Isthmian Canal Commission (ICC), the American administrative body overseeing the canal. He went on to produce more than 16,000 images during his 30-year career. Until his retirement in 1937, his photographs were the primary means by which Americans and the world experienced this engineering feat. Many were published in magazines and newspapers.
Images of the Culebra (Snake) Cut or Gaillard Cut, the project’s most dangerous and labor intensive segments, comprise the bulk of Hallen’s work in the MFA’s holdings. Engineers and workers carved out a valley through the Culebra mountain ridge linking Gatun Lake and the Gulf of Panama, and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Landslides endangered the lives of workers, damaged equipment and delayed progress. It was a Herculean endeavor.
Hallen’s images also capture changes in Panama City during this era. Notable examples are two photographs of North Avenue, before and after paving in 1907. He turned his camera to ruins of Old Panama, the first European settlement on the Pacific founded in 1519, and to Taboga Island, which housed the ICC’s hospital and clubhouse.
New York’s MoMA has a selection of Hallen’s photography in its collection. His images are also housed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and the Library of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, as well as now at the MFA.
Building the Panama Canal is the fifth project spotlighting The Ludmila Dandrew and Chitranee Drapkin Collection. The Museum began collecting photography in the early 1970s, before many museums had the foresight to recognize the medium’s value. The collection has grown in number and stature over the years. The recent, generous donations by Ludmila and Bruce Dandrew and Chitranee and Dr. Robert L. Drapkin have taken the MFA’s photography holdings, now the largest in a Southeastern art museum, to an entirely new level.
About My Generation: Young Chinese Artists (Works by 27 artists on view through Sunday, September 28, 2014.)
This compelling exhibition looks at the new generation of artists who have emerged in mainland China since 2000, a period marked by increased openness to the West and greater experimentation. The Chinese art scene has exploded with more than 400 galleries and 700 new museums opening in the last four years alone. Sun Xun has created a site-specific installation, The Image Library, for the MFA. The curator, New York-based art critic Barbara Pollack, interviewed more than 100 young artists from every region of China in preparing the exhibition.
The works are divided between the MFA and the Tampa Museum of Art, creating a cultural corridor across the bay. A $20 combo ticket, providing admission to both museums, can be purchased at the welcome desks or online by going to www.fine-arts.org.
The Museum of Fine Arts is at 255 Beach Drive N.E. St Petersburg. Admission is only “$5 after 5” on Thursday. Information, 727-896-2667 or www.fine-arts.org.