"NEWSWEEK
May 5 issue ? For photographer Subhankar Banerjee, it should have been a
publicity coup. During the Senate?s March 19 debate over proposed oil
drilling in Alaska?s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, opponents of the
legislation used blown-up photographs of polar bears and caribou to urge the
reserve?s preservation.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE from ?Seasons of Life and Land,? Banerjee?s
first book and the subject of an exhibit at the Smithsonian?s National
Museum of Natural History opening in May. During the debate, which resulted
in defeat of the bill, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer held up Banerjee?s book
and implored her colleagues to visit the exhibition. Days later, Banerjee
received notice that the Smithsonian, which depends on Congress for its
funding, had decided to move his exhibition from a prominent space near the
museum?s rotunda to the bottom floor, and the exhibit?s captions were
expunged of quotes from Jimmy Carter, who, in the foreword to Banerjee?s
book, urges ANWR?s preservation. Attorneys for the museum insisted that
Banerjee remove all mentions of the Smithsonian from his book. ?I was told
that my work was just too political. It?s just photographs,? Banerjee says.
A Feb. 27 design plan lists the exhibit?s location to be a space near the
rotunda, but Smithsonian officials say the changes were ?routine? and deny
any political pressure. ?To my knowledge, there have been no complaints
about the show,? says Michelle Urie. Others aren?t so sure. Last week
Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin wrote Smithsonian chief Lawrence Small demanding
an explanation. ?I really hope this is not an effort by the White House or
anyone else to diminish the value of these photographs,? says Durbin. The
White House had no comment. ?Holly Bailey "
http://wwbphoto.com/gallery1.html
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