Gezicht op het oostelijk deel van Leopoldstad 1896

Editor: Here we have Franz Thonner’s “Gezicht op het oostelijk deel van Leopoldstad,” or “View of the Eastern Part of Leopoldstad,” from 1896, a gelatin silver print. It looks… dry. Arid. What strikes you most about this work? Curator: What jumps out is the way photography here serves as a tool of documentation tied to specific material interests. Consider the gelatin silver print – mass-producible, easily disseminated. How does this influence the viewer’s perception of Leopoldstad, and its role within the colonial project? Editor: So, you're suggesting the choice of medium isn't just about aesthetics, but about control of the image and, by extension, the narrative? Curator: Exactly. The mass production of these images fed directly into colonial ideologies, shaping the Western view of Africa and justifying resource extraction and labor exploitation. Notice how the composition itself, the depiction of “villages,” exoticizes the location, turning its inhabitants into a resource to be extracted as well. Editor: That’s a disturbing thought. I hadn’t considered the inherent power dynamics embedded in the seemingly objective format of photography itself. Curator: Look closely, then, at who is taking these photographs, how they are distributed, and what ends they ultimately serve. How is photography in itself labor and what does it yield? Consider too, what isn't being shown, what the photographic record omits. Editor: This makes me rethink how I interpret historical images. I'll definitely look at art through a materialist lens from now on! Curator: Precisely! Art doesn't exist in a vacuum. It’s a product, a reflection of material conditions, power structures, and social dynamics of its time.