Gezicht op de piramides van Gizeh vanaf het water c. 1880 - 1900

Curator: What a melancholic scene. There's an overwhelming feeling of stillness here. Editor: Indeed. This gelatin-silver print, entitled "View of the Pyramids of Giza from the Water", was taken around 1880-1900 by C. & G. Zangaki. Notice the perspective. Curator: Absolutely, it immediately struck me how the vantage point and the photographic process emphasize a palpable sense of distance. You can practically feel the haze and humidity. It’s all quite deliberate in softening the immense materiality and form of the pyramids. I’m curious about that choice. Editor: Well, think of the period and its context. These photographers catered to a Western audience fascinated by the ‘Orient.’ This image performs the orient as timeless and sublime, doesn’t it? The pyramids loom, softened by atmospheric perspective. Curator: True. And I’m wondering about the social aspects here, particularly the commodification of ancient labor through photography. I'm very interested in how such constructions involved immense toil. Editor: I see your point. However, doesn't the framing also imply a critique, maybe unintentional? By showing it “from the water”, including modern construction or travel structures in the composition… Curator: A disruption to the romantic, timeless view, certainly. Editor: Exactly! The emerging industry around Egyptian antiquities – its hotels, tourists, and the very act of photographing – are implicitly contrasted to this supposed timeless wonder of labor. Curator: A tension, perhaps? Still, considering this was produced as a photographic print, readily available for purchase, the romantic view most likely won the day. People desired a fantasy of the Orient, one that elided labor conditions or the socio-economic factors at play. Editor: Perhaps you are right. Still, by placing such popular images within a social framework, acknowledging their role in constructing perception, it does bring greater understanding. Curator: Absolutely. Thinking about these pyramids now, within their network of commerce and consumption gives a different texture, a greater reality.