Julius Orlovsky, from Me and My Brother c. 1965 - 1968

Editor: This gelatin silver print is titled "Julius Orlovsky, from Me and My Brother," created by Robert Frank around 1965 to 1968. There's something immediate about the reproduction of two identical portraits within the same frame. What's your read on this, from a curator's perspective? Curator: I see the gelatin-silver print less as a transparent window and more as a material object shaped by specific labor processes. Consider Frank's artistic choices here: the serial repetition facilitated by the photographic medium emphasizes mechanical reproduction. Editor: How does that connect to a materialist viewpoint? Curator: Think about how the act of taking a photo, developing it, and printing it connects to the broader economy. Photography, particularly in the mid-20th century, relied on complex supply chains: silver mining for the gelatin print, chemical manufacturing, and even the labor of studio assistants, should Frank have had any. These all constitute the making of this image, making Frank a 'producer' in both a material and a social sense. The inherent repeatability granted by photography disrupts any notion of the unique 'aura' of art, suggesting a more democratic distribution. Editor: I guess I hadn’t thought about all that “stuff” behind one picture. So, even his decision to present Orlovsky in this reproducible way carries social implications? Curator: Precisely. The choice of this specific printing process becomes a deliberate aesthetic statement, reflecting on art’s place in a society increasingly shaped by mass production. The supposed 'authenticity' of the captured subject diminishes as he’s just an easily replicated, produced commodity, presented in multiples in one singular photographic work. Editor: I'll definitely view gelatin silver prints differently now, as more than just pretty images. Curator: That's the goal – seeing art as embedded within material processes. Hopefully now you will consider the politics of artistic production more intently.