Woodblock: Francis James Child 1897

Editor: This is Gustav Kruell's woodblock print of Francis James Child. It's a somber, almost spectral image. What sociopolitical context do you see informing Kruell's representation? Curator: Kruell’s portrait, intentionally or not, obscures Child's face, pushing him into shadow. Considering Child's work centered on the ballad tradition, largely appropriating from working-class narratives, does this obscuring act as a critique of academic elites and their relationship to cultural heritage? Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn't thought about the visual language in terms of appropriation. Curator: The ambiguity encourages us to question whose stories are seen and heard, and at what cost. Food for thought, isn't it?