Balancing the Lenses
Stereoviews of the Middle East
February 23, 2008 - July 12, 2008

For centuries novels and travelogues, among other records, have documented the sights of the Orient, captivating the imagination of a western audience while producing certain stereotypical views of "the East." At a time when European Imperialist agendas turned towards the Eastern hemisphere, "the Orient" became known as a mythical place, with pyramids, exotic belly dancers, and a lush, exotic culture, and rich in age-old customs and traditions. "The Orient" other was born. Painted in traditional garb it was also seen in direct opposition to western civilization. The west considered the East a technically primitive place of laziness and promiscuity. The notion of the other created through the differences between East and West produced a dichotomy of reactions towards the East. On the one hand an obsession with ancient history, the exotic, the sexual, and on the other hand an ideal of superiority that endowed the West with justification to civilize the East.

The advent of photography, especially stereography, further reinforced the stereotypes of the Middle East. During the nineteenth century, photography was conceptualized as a conveyer of 'truth.' Photographers captured through their lenses an image of the Middle East already established in historical records. Often they staged compositions when the 'authentic' scenes were not exotic enough, to confirm the notions already embedded in the western mind of the exotic other. The introduction of stereography facilitated a wider dissemination of these images through the popular innovation of seeing a three-dimensional image, allowing the viewer to become more involved with the scene.

Stereographs had other advantages in the propagation of western perceptions of the Orient: they included text and were sold in boxed sets. Each stereograph was set into a card, which in turn contained a descriptive text on its back. The text provided contextual information about the image, frequently emphasizing preconceived western superiority and general stereotypes about the East. Major stereographic companies, such as Keystone View Company and Underwood and Underwood, produced boxed sets of stereographs organized by countries, such as Egypt and India, for entertainment and educational purposes. It was the entire package -visual scenes coupled with the narrative- presented in a neat box that help perpetuate the stereotypes of the Middle East.

The stereographs from the Keystone-Mast Collection, however, provide deeper historical insight beyond mere stereotypes of the East; they also captured glimpses of the 'authentic' Middle East of the time. In the midst of pyramids, mosques and camels, one finds street markets, school children, and many other daily life activities. The stereographs in this collection show a variety of social classes, religions, and activities that prove the Middle East to be a Crossroads of Humanity.

Balancing the Lenses seeks to provide a general view of the complex interactions between "the West" and "the East" as reflected in stereographic images. The countries shown include Algeria, Egypt, India, Morocco, Palestine (modern Israel, West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and parts of Egypt, Syria and Jordan), Tunisia and Turkey. All the stereographs were taken between the years of 1890 to 1940, during the height of stereography, and also the height of the colonization of these countries by the British, French and Italians. Alongside iconic images of the Middle East, such as camels, mosques, and veiled women, we have images that bear witness of the Western influence in this area, especially noticeable in the architecture, vehicles, and manner of dress. While these stereographs convey the stereotypes, the ideas of superiority of the western imperialist gaze, nevertheless we can catch a glimpse of the richness and complexity of the people and cultures of the Middle East.

This exhibit is a product of the National Endowment of the Humanities project "Creating Online Access to 19th and 20th-Century Stereographs of the Middle East." This project seeks to digitize 9,000 stereographs of the Middle East and India from the Keystone-Mast Collection. It is through the generosity of the Mast family and Mead Kibbey that the Keystone-Mast Collection now resides at UCR/California Museum of Photography. All the images presented in this exhibit come from this collection. All inscriptions and names of countries used here are taken directly from the original stereographs in order to preserve the historical and cultural context they provide and do not necessarily correspond to contemporary names and views.

Curated by Diana Rose and Melody Levin
UCR/California Museum of Photography
2008