Gezicht op Cádiz, gezien vanaf de vuurtoren van San Sebastián 1862 - 1876

Editor: This gelatin-silver print from somewhere between 1862 and 1876 by Jean Andrieu presents a general view of Cádiz from the San Sebastián lighthouse. There's almost a sense of constructed vision because it is a stereoscopic image made up of two almost identical photographs presented side by side. It's really interesting. What do you see when you look at it? Curator: I am drawn to how the very act of creating this image is rooted in specific economic and material conditions. This isn’t just about capturing a scene; it's about the labor involved in obtaining, preparing, and manipulating the gelatin silver. Think about the photographer procuring chemicals, the time developing the print, the whole photographic industry in 19th century Spain and how Cádiz fit into this world. It raises a question: how was photography consumed and circulated at that time? Editor: So, it's not just the picture of Cádiz, but what went into taking and distributing the picture. Curator: Precisely. And the silver gelatin process itself—a relatively accessible technology that democratized image production and circulation to some extent, creating different tiers in a capitalist marketplace. Before photography, depictions of cityscapes such as Cádiz may only have been enjoyed by the elite who could purchase fine art painting and prints. But the accessibility of photography increased access, commodifying place. Editor: That is something I hadn’t considered; how different classes would have accessed imagery at the time and how photography changed that dynamic. I see it from an entirely different perspective now. Thanks! Curator: Yes, the image then becomes something of a social object, and its creation inextricably linked to manufacturing, capital, and even societal hierarchies of labor and class.