Twee portretten van Lars Johnsen before 1880

Editor: This is an interesting find - two portraits of Lars Johnsen from before 1880, using photography and gelatin-silver print, or albumen print. I find it so intriguing, these portraits seem a bit casual and yet they’re posed with such deliberate care. What can you tell me about this piece? Curator: Well, looking at this albumen print, it makes me immediately consider the socio-economic implications of photography at the time. How does the technology—the development and widespread adoption of albumen prints—change portraiture, and therefore self-representation for someone like Lars Johnsen? Was he wealthy? What kind of labour produced this portrait? Editor: That’s a really interesting perspective. It shifts the focus from simply viewing the subject to thinking about the process and the labor involved. You mean, was photography already available to working-class people? Curator: Exactly. The industrial production of photographic materials, like the mass production of coated paper, allowed photography to become more accessible. But, even still, how "accessible" was it truly? And for whom? The studio backdrop, the subject's clothing—all this indicates levels of financial access, doesn’t it? Also, consider how the print’s degradation contributes to the story over time, its aging process as it interacts with light and air. Editor: So the fading and imperfections are actually part of the art's story? I would have never considered that. It makes me appreciate it so much more. Thanks. Curator: Absolutely! We're looking not only at Lars Johnsen, but the whole production apparatus and what happens after. Thinking about material realities gives us an entirely new perspective.