The Image Expedition
Encyclopedia
The Image Expedition is an American not-for-profit organization that produces multi-platform projects, which serve to photograph and document indigenous ways of life
that are at risk of disappearing. Their projects use fine art photography, museum-quality exhibitions, digital video, websites, and explanatory text.
, funded in part by a grant which Lorenzetti had recently been awarded by the South Florida Cultural Consortium's Visual Artist Fellowship. The editorial director of the Image Expedition is Daniel's wife, Linda Rice Lorenzetti, whose writing has been published in The Adventure of Food: True Stories of Eating Everything (Travelers' Tales, 1999), and The Birth of Coffee
(Random House, 2001).
The Image Expedition states that they are committed to respecting and not imposing upon the cultures that they visit. Daniel Lorenzetti has said, "As Americans, we can't pretend to understand many of these people's lives. We can only observe them."
The main goal of the organization is to create 'visual artifacts' — "words and images that document ancient sites, unusual occupations and traditional ways of life, many disappearing in the digital age." Examples of visual artifacts preserved by the Image Expedition range from cricket sellers in Beijing's public markets, to the Mingangkabau in Indonesia — one of the last existing matrilineal cultures, to duckherders in Burma, to public human cremation in Bali, to name a few.
Research for their second project, The Birth of Coffee
, began in 1996. The aim of this project is to help the average coffee-drinker to be aware of the difficult process that laborers must endure in order to grow and produce coffee. A book of their findings from this expedition, The Birth of Coffee
, was published by Random House
in 2001.
Continental Airlines
(provides tickets), Starwood
/Sheraton
hotels (provides accommodations), Magellan (supplied GPS device), Olympus
America (supplies cameras), Ilford
(supplies film and paper), Print File (donates photographic and archival supplies), Royal Robbins
(supplies travel clothing), Imacon (supplies scanners), Winsor and Newton (supplies easels), Eagle Creek
(supplies luggage), Lonely Planet
(supplies travel guides), and Dell
(supplies laptops).
(London, England), the Corcoran Gallery of Art
(Washington, D.C.), and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art
(Santa Barbara, CA).
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
that are at risk of disappearing. Their projects use fine art photography, museum-quality exhibitions, digital video, websites, and explanatory text.
Background
The Image Expedition was founded in 1990 by Daniel LorenzettiDaniel Lorenzetti
Daniel Lorenzetti, born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is an American writer, documentary photographer and explorer. He is also a frequent speaker on the subject of entertainment innovation specifically in the area of Transmedia and Collaborative Storytelling....
, funded in part by a grant which Lorenzetti had recently been awarded by the South Florida Cultural Consortium's Visual Artist Fellowship. The editorial director of the Image Expedition is Daniel's wife, Linda Rice Lorenzetti, whose writing has been published in The Adventure of Food: True Stories of Eating Everything (Travelers' Tales, 1999), and The Birth of Coffee
The Birth of Coffee
The Birth of Coffee is a transmedia project which includes a book of words and images, a photographic exhibit, and a web site. It focuses on the people worldwide who grow and produce coffee...
(Random House, 2001).
The Image Expedition states that they are committed to respecting and not imposing upon the cultures that they visit. Daniel Lorenzetti has said, "As Americans, we can't pretend to understand many of these people's lives. We can only observe them."
The main goal of the organization is to create 'visual artifacts' — "words and images that document ancient sites, unusual occupations and traditional ways of life, many disappearing in the digital age." Examples of visual artifacts preserved by the Image Expedition range from cricket sellers in Beijing's public markets, to the Mingangkabau in Indonesia — one of the last existing matrilineal cultures, to duckherders in Burma, to public human cremation in Bali, to name a few.
Projects
The Image Expedition's pilot project was a one-month trip to Ecuador in 1990, during which they documented diverse communities within the country, from the Andes mountains to the Amazon basin. In 1995 the team traveled to document rural areas of China, Yemen, Cambodia, and Burma. In 1996 the team spent two months photographing and gathering stories from Indonesia, specifically the islands of Bali, Java, Sumatra, Kalimatan and Sulawesi. All of the above research culminated in the publication of Collecting Visual Artifacts, published by IX/Lighthouse Press in 1998.Research for their second project, The Birth of Coffee
The Birth of Coffee
The Birth of Coffee is a transmedia project which includes a book of words and images, a photographic exhibit, and a web site. It focuses on the people worldwide who grow and produce coffee...
, began in 1996. The aim of this project is to help the average coffee-drinker to be aware of the difficult process that laborers must endure in order to grow and produce coffee. A book of their findings from this expedition, The Birth of Coffee
The Birth of Coffee
The Birth of Coffee is a transmedia project which includes a book of words and images, a photographic exhibit, and a web site. It focuses on the people worldwide who grow and produce coffee...
, was published by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
in 2001.
Sponsors
The Image Expedition's work has been made possible by donations from the following sponsors:Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
(provides tickets), Starwood
Starwood
Starwood may refer to:* Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide* Starwood Amphitheatre* Starwood Club of Los Angeles, California* Starwood Festival...
/Sheraton
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's largest and second oldest brand . Starwood's headquarters are in White Plains, New York.-Sheraton history:...
hotels (provides accommodations), Magellan (supplied GPS device), Olympus
Olympus Corporation
is a Japan-based manufacturer of optics and reprography products. Olympus was established on 12 October 1919, initially specializing in microscope and thermometer businesses. Its global headquarters are in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, while its USA operations are based in Center Valley, Pennsylvania,...
America (supplies cameras), Ilford
Ilford Photo
Ilford Photo is a manufacturer of photographic materials known worldwide for its black-and-white film and papers and chemicals, as well as its range of Ilfochrome and Ilfocolor colour printing materials. Ilfochrome was formerly called Cibachrome, developed in partnership with the Swiss company...
(supplies film and paper), Print File (donates photographic and archival supplies), Royal Robbins
Royal Robbins
Royal Robbins is one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite...
(supplies travel clothing), Imacon (supplies scanners), Winsor and Newton (supplies easels), Eagle Creek
Eagle Creek
Eagle Creek is a creek in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. The creek drains into the Columbia River in Multnomah County, with its outlet on the Columbia River Gorge. It is in the Mount Hood National Forest...
(supplies luggage), Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
(supplies travel guides), and Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
(supplies laptops).
Collections
The Image Expedition's photographs are in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
(London, England), the Corcoran Gallery of Art
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
(Washington, D.C.), and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art is an art museum located at 1130 State St. in downtown Santa Barbara, California.It was founded in 1941 and currently ranks amongst the top 10 regional art museums in the United States . It is home to both permanent and special collections, the former of which...
(Santa Barbara, CA).