Kanon de Dulle Griet in Gent 1865 - 1875

Curator: Here we have an albumen print dating from 1865 to 1875 entitled “Kanon de Dulle Griet in Gent”. Editor: Wow, there’s something about the stillness of this image that’s so compelling. It’s like the world is holding its breath. Curator: It's a cityscape, focusing on a cannon. What intrigues me is this stereoscopic format. It speaks of a time when people sought to capture reality with depth and precision, turning photography into an immersive experience, almost sculptural. Editor: Right! It feels oddly staged given it depicts a functional object of war – but also, is it about celebrating iron-making? Because the craft, the labor behind creating this weapon is absent from the picture. We only see the end result, cold and monumental. I wonder about the process itself, who made it, and under what conditions? Curator: That is fascinating! It's almost as if the city is just a backdrop to the real star here - this metal beast representing power, ingenuity but also the impending possibility of violence. Editor: Precisely! The question arises, who benefited from this? It's presented almost like a commodity – a ready-made tool promising dominance. But how many lives, how much labor did it swallow to come into being? Curator: You are so right; it’s hard not to read something into this carefully composed scene, this very object – which even the perspective highlights – feels charged with a certain symbolic tension. It’s unsettling, yet compellingly rendered through photography's evolving techniques in this early period. Editor: Well, it’s successfully sparked several ideas regarding industry, craftsmanship and of course power, while making me feel vaguely uneasy! I would say this seemingly simple albumen-print has proven pretty successful. Curator: It's amazing how a single image can contain so much, not just as a record of the past, but as an invitation to reflect on our relationship to technology and society today.