Research Catalog

Title

Hoover Dam : the photographs of Ben Glaha / Barbara Vilander.

Author

Vilander, Barbara, 1958-

Publication

Tucson : University of Arizona Press, [1999], ©1999.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

Glaha, Ben D., 1899-1970.

Description

xvi, 169 pages : illustrations, map; 26 cm

Summary

• "Hoover Dam was constructed during one of the most depressed economic climates in American history, in a remote desert canyon where temperatures ranged from single to triple digits. In order to visually document the project, the Bureau of Reclamation assigned employee Ben Glaha to photograph all aspects of the dam's construction.
• Glaha's photographs were used in press releases, periodicals, books, pamphlets, and slide shows to demonstrate that the dam was structurally sound and that government funds were being used wisely. Hoover Dam: The Photographs of Ben Glaha is the first detailed examination of Glaha's images of the project, some of which have never before been published."--BOOK JACKET.
• "Art historian Barbara Vilander's text places Glaha's efforts within the historical context of western landscape exploration and development and reveals how his particular qualifications led to his selection as the project photographer. Vilander then examines the many publications and venues in which the Bureau used Glaha's photographs to create support for the project.
• She also discusses how Glaha was recognized in his own era as an influential artist and teacher, and compares his work with that of other contemporary landscape photographers addressing western water management."--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

• Hoover Dam (Ariz. and Nev.) > Design and construction > Pictorial works
• Glaha, Ben D., 1899-1970
• Photography in engineering

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [153]-158) and index.

Contents

1. The Shovel and the Camera: The Bureau Tames the Colorado -- 2. The Unique Talents of Ben Glaha Suit the Task -- 3. The Bureau's Use of Glaha's Photographs -- 4. Machine Aesthetic: The Photographs as Art -- 5. Documents for Publicity: The Photographs as Propaganda -- 6. Glaha's Contribution Spreads Beyond the Dam -- 7. Contemporary Photography: Water in the West Today.

ISBN

• 0816516944 (cloth : alk. paper)
• 0816516952 (paper : alk. paper)

LCCN

99006107

OCLC

ocm40783776

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries