Article Database - The Role of the Photograph in the Alberta Praire Grain Elevator Exhibit

Such was the reality of an exhibit on Alberta's country grain elevators which was shown at the Provincial Museum of Alberta from April to July 1999. It all began with the idea of a photo contest open to all Albertans as the vehicle by which the fast-disappearing primary grain elevators could be documented. Immediate questions popped into mind. Which of these structures should be photo documented? Any elevator? Or, should we attempt first to learn which elevators are important to Alberta's built heritage, both historically and architecturally? But photo documentation implies the photography of all extant elevators. How could we ensure that a photo contest would not only document the important structures but all of the elevators? What, too, of those elevators which had been torn down or removed 20 years ago, or two weeks ago? Thus began a research project that, among other duties, saw contractor Judy Larmour photo document every elevator still standing on a railway point and categorize the elevators according to their importance. With photo documentation of the extant grain elevators thus guaranteed, the photo contest became the means by which aesthetically pleasing colour and black and white current photography as well as archival photos of elevators no longer standing could be collected.

A photo contest implies several things. First, it suggests that there will be categories under which the photographers can enter their photographs; second, that there will be a number of entries to make the contest worthwhile; and, third, that from the entries, a number will be chosen as the "winners" which then will be proclaimed in some manner. In order to attract as many photographers and as many photographs as possible, four categories of photography were established

Then, following a widely circulated media release in October 1997, the contest opened November 1 for a one-year run. This allowed for a four-season shoot so that the grain elevators could be captured in their many moods and situations. Although the popularity of the subject matter was never in doubt, the actual number of photographic entries I could expect was, of course, a question. The first month of the contest set a quick pace, a pace which did not abate throughout the year. When the photo contest closed on November 1, 1998, Albertans had sent in some 4,500 images to the Heritage Prairie Grain Elevator photo contest! Approximately half of the entries are transparencies; the other half are in print form, in varying sizes. Thousands of contest entries create logistical challenges. To guarantee that no photograph is misplaced or credited to the wrong photographer, all images are catalogued into the museum's photographic collection. A catalogue number is assigned to each photograph, and the name and address of the photographer are recorded as well, in pencil on the back of the prints or on the transparencies' mounts. The photographs are then physically filed according to the contest categories.

Whether an exhibit idea centres around a storyline, artifacts or, in this case, photographs, some issues basic to any exhibit must be addressed. Exhibits, after all, should tell us something about a subject or an issue and, ultimately, pose questions about ourselves. We are forced to ask, what can the photograph tell us about the architectural merit of the country elevator, the historical importance of the elevators to the industry they served, the impact they have had on small town Alberta, and the phenomenon and controversy of their disappearance? By examining and studying the photographs we learn that they are an excellent medium to explore some of these basic questions. Some photographs document the construction of the elevators, the various types of annexes, the outbuildings, concentrating on the physical mass of the structures. Other photos juxtapose the elevators to the rail lines, underlining the long-standing and symbiotic relationship between the grain and transportation industries. Yet other photos place the elevators in the context of their surroundings to give us a clear perception of not only their physical dominance in a community but a suggestion of what that presence has meant to the economies of their towns. And many are the photographs of their demolitions that speak to the emotional, as much as the economic, impact of their removal on those who have documented their demise. Lionized as "prairie icons," "prairie cathedrals" or "prairie sentinels," our grain elevators have dominated our horizons and our streetscapes for the past 100 years. The photographers in this exhibit relayed the powerful story of an industry in revolution and the social and economic uncertainties posed by their demolition.

So compelling is this story that what began as a modest, two-dimensional show of 50 or 60 winning photos and accompanying storyboards has mushroomed into a multi-media exhibit. A video entitled "Vanishing Giants" by WTJ Productions of Calgary, a selection of artifacts salvaged from demolished elevators and a working model complement the content photographs and storyboards. There is, though, one part of the storyline that the contest photos cannot illustrate adequately. The elevator silhouette is so deeply engrained in our psyche that it has become an icon of our western identity. The elevator as icon was explored through the works of artists such as R.F.M. McInnis of Nanton, Karen Brownlee of Lethbridge and Adrian Cooke, also of Lethbridge and craftspeople responding to an Alberta Craft Council competition. The idea of using photographs as the central feature of this exhibit has opened other avenues by which we can look at this disappearing feature of our landscape.

Jane Ross is the Curator of Western Canadian History at the Provincial Museum of Alberta.