Near East to Far West, Early Photography in China

Episode No. 595 features curators JR Henneman and Stephanie Tung. Henneman is the curator of "Near East to Far West: Fictions of French and American Colonialism" at the Denver Art Museum. The exhibition explores how the style and substance of French Orientalism -- art inspired by French colonial expansion into North Africa and the Islamic world -- informed United States artists and their representations of lands the US acquired as part of its imperial expansion. The exhibition is on view through May 29. Its superb catalogue was published by the Denver Art Museum. Amazon offers it for about $65. Along with Karina H. Corrigan, Tung is the curator of "Power and Perspective: Early Photography in China" at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass. The exhibition reveals how photographers helped determine how the world viewed nineteenth-century China. The exhibition features 130 photographs, as well as paintings, decorative arts, and prints. It is on view through April 2. The excellent exhibition catalogue was published by the museum. Amazon offers it for about $60.