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Summary Of Yuma Buck And Nude Squaw By Henry Buehman

Decent Essays

The piece Yuma Buck and Nude Squaw by Henry Buehman taken place in the Tucson Arizona Territory in the 1870s is a visual representation of colonialism within the 70s. Because Buehman was a white man and an outsider looking into the Indian community that he studied, audiences are easily able to see the informed accents of colonialism in his work. This photo in particular represents the the concept of the colonial gaze quite well. By definition the colonial gaze is how westerners and non-westerners see Indigenous people. The individuals within the photo look as if they have a lot of disinterest in the photoshoot, which is what Buehman may have been hoping for. Because they are not smiling or in a confident pose it is almost as if Buehman is intentionally trying to represent the colonial gaze. …show more content…

In the photo it is as if he uses the woman to represent what the Europeans see in Indigenous people such as savage, uncivilized, and dirty, and on the other hand he dresses the man in more of a European outfit of choice with the black vest and shirt and pants. He still somewhat represents a dirtier side of the man aswell because he is not wearing any shoes, but because his clothing presents European culture it is almost as if he is more powerful in the photo. Buehman seems to be playing with power in this photo as well as he dresses what looks to be the woman on the right as vulnerable by showering her breasts and wearing a skirt where as the man is dressed more formally. At the same time he represents a kind of resistance to colonialism by wanting to dress a man in clothes similar to his, and showing that he can look good in those

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