Optocht te Haarlem, 1872 (plaat 12) 1872

Editor: This is "Optocht te Haarlem, 1872 (plaat 12)" by Emrik & Binger, a lithograph from 1872. There’s almost a sense of ordered chaos to the composition. What aspects of its historical context strike you? Curator: Considering its materiality, the lithograph—a printmaking process—allows for relatively easy reproduction and broad distribution. So, in 1872, this image of a parade becomes accessible to a wide audience, shaping public memory and potentially solidifying communal identity around the event. Do you notice how the specific labor involved in the print impacts its aesthetic? Editor: I do, now that you mention it! The relative simplicity makes the details less clear, more symbolic, almost… abstracted. What impact would it have on the perception of this parade, to see it reproduced this way? Curator: Exactly. Think about how the production process flattens the visual experience. It abstracts the event into something repeatable and consumable. Rather than focus on the pomp and circumstance of the procession itself, let’s look at its material qualities. The widespread dissemination of printed images contributes to forming national identity and shaping local narratives about historical events, no? Editor: That's true! It shifts from being just a parade to being a widely held and shared experience of one. Curator: Precisely! The material act of creating the image helps create the story. And it becomes about distribution as much as depiction. How does understanding the materiality change your viewing? Editor: I hadn’t really thought about it that way, I was focused on the subject… It’s so interesting how the medium becomes part of the message. It seems almost obvious now! Curator: These things often are, once we pull back the layers. So many people can now access to this moment in history. A single artwork made it happen, again and again.