PHOTOGRAPHER CLICKS CULTURALLY
Published on March 7, 2003
© 2003- The Press Democrat
JANET PARMER FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
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Ilka Hartmann sacrificed sleep for a couple of days to deliver one of the biggest assignments of her career as a photojournalist.
The Village Voice newspaper in Manhattan had asked Hartmann, a Bay Area photographer, to go quickly to a remote region of Nevada and photograph two Western Shoshone sisters who were in a stand-off with the U.S. government.
In 1979, Mary and Carrie Dann refused to relinquish their grazing rights, and became part of a court case against the government, which wanted the land for what were believed to be military purposes.
But when Hartmann arrived, it was no simple feat gaining the trust of the American Indian chief she first encountered, and getting his assistance in finding the Danns.
After agreeing to help, he drove Hartmann on what seemed like an endless ride along the unmarked sandy roads of the high desert reservation to reach the women's ranch.
Hartmann snapped 12 rolls of film and frantically raced back to California.
Another photographer developed her black-and-white negatives so she could grab a few hours of sleep. With adrenaline pumping, she printed the photos and sent them to New York.
But the Voice's needs had shifted, and Hartmann was told the weekly newspaper was postponing the story for a week.
``Oh, I couldn't believe it,'' said Hartmann, recalling her efforts to meet the deadline.
On scene at Alcatraz
With every photo she has snapped, Hartmann has an accompanying story about the people portrayed, the struggles they faced, and the news they made.
Hartmann, a native of Hamburg, Germany, is a preeminent photographer of urban American Indians in the Bay Area, and numerous photos she shot during the occupation of Alcatraz from 1969 to 1971 have been published in books, magazines and newspapers and appear in documentaries.
A selection of her work focusing on Indians in the western United States is on display during March at the Mahoney Library on the Petaluma campus of Santa Rosa Junior College. A reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday.
As a foreigner with a noticeable accent, Hartmann believes her outsider status has made it easier to develop trust with American Indians and gain access to their world.
She also has photographed other groups engaged in struggles for recognition, including farmworkers and nuclear protesters.
A collection of her photos chronicling the Black Panther Party activities in the 1960s was on display last month at Sonoma State University's Schulz Information Center art gallery.
Hartmann teaches in SSU's Holocaust Studies program.
Heart of the Rock'
It took Hartmann about six months to gain access to Alcatraz, but once she did, she became immersed in visually chronicling activities among the American Indians occupying the island, and her pictures appeared in underground publications, the Catholic Voice and Indian newspapers.
Many of her photos are included in the book ``Heart of the Rock: The Indian Invasion of Alcatraz'' published last year by the University of Oklahoma Press. Some of her Alcatraz photos are in the SRJC display.
Hartmann began writing regularly for the Catholic Voice, and wrote a lengthy series about urban Indians for Pacific News Service. Her work has also appeared in German publications, including as Der Spiegel.
``In 1980, I was on a high point. I could almost propose any story, and new age or alternative publications would take them,'' she said.
Hartmann, who has lived primarily in Bolinas since 1969, has forged enduring friendships with many of the people she photographed, and been embraced by their families.
American Indian Movement leader Dennis Banks built a sweat lodge on her Bolinas property, and she welcomed those who came to use it.
``Red power was in the air and I readily admit I was part of it,'' Hartmann said. ``It was a big realization that I would never be one of them.''
Multicultural bent
Hartmann has collaborated with authors on other topics, and contributed photos to ``Pearson, A Harbor Seal Pup,'' about the Marine Mammal Center, and a book about Bolinas titled ``The Town That Fought To Save Itself,'' which she wrote with former partner Orville Schell, the dean of the graduate journalism school at UC Berkeley.
Hartmann moved to California from Germany in 1964, and studied theology at the University of the Pacific and photography at San Joaquin Junior College. On a statewide tour of California missions soon after her arrival, she met her first American Indian and became intrigued about the culture.
``I knew about the Holocaust and could see people here who were almost destroyed,'' she said. ``I made a strong connection to them. That's why I started to work on these photographs. I loved the culture and the people.''
Hartmann later got a master's degree at UC Berkeley in German literature and language, and in 1987 began teaching photography at Sonoma State University.
She later taught German language and literature at SSU, and then began teaching in the Holocaust Studies program. She also taught photography for two years at an art school in Berlin.
``My favorite pictures are posed. Usually I have seen people like that and ask if I can put them in better light,'' she said.
Photographer Ilka Hartmann will have an exhibit at the Mahoney Library on the Petaluma campus of Santa Rosa Junior College. She is shown at her Black Panther show at the Sonoma State University's Schulz Information Center art gallery.
The SRJC show will be on display through March 28 [2003] in the Mahoney Library. The library is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m Saturday.