Framing the Asia-Pacific: The Gerhard Sisters at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

The St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904 was an occasion for celebrating the USA’s purchase of the State of Louisiana and the American government’s recent annexation of the Philippine Islands. So that Americans could familiarise themselves with the people from their latest acquisition, hundreds of live Filipinos were placed on display at the fair. Also featured were Asian people from a variety of Pacific Rim nations. A small group of women photographers were charged with the responsibility of photographing these visitors. This essay focuses on the work of two of these women – Emme and Mayme Gerhard from St. Louis. The essay examines some of the more stereotypical images of Japanese, Chinese, Alaskan and Filipino subjects they produced at the fair alongside images they created that awarded the same ethnic groups humanity and identity, asking how should we understand this seeming tension in their work? Was it the result of an implicitly imperialist mode of photography practised by white middle-class women as Laura Wexler has claimed, or were there other important factors at play? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]