Couple Fishing from Bank of Seine 1951

Editor: This gelatin-silver print is titled "Couple Fishing from Bank of Seine," created in 1951 by Irving Penn. It has such a grainy, almost ghostly feel. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a study in labor and leisure, presented in a postwar context. Consider the gelatin-silver print: a process refined and mass-produced, mirroring the industrialization of the era. Editor: So the materials and techniques are actually integral to the meaning? Curator: Precisely. Penn chose a medium readily available, accessible. This couple engages in a traditional pastime – fishing – yet they are framed by a landscape undergoing rapid transformation. Do you think their attire says something about their social class or lifestyle? Editor: I hadn't considered it, but their clothing seems quite practical, not overly stylized. They could be workers using their day off, maybe seeking sustenance from the river, perhaps a reflection on resource scarcity and access post-war? Curator: Exactly! We have high art (the photograph) representing working people engaging with available resources to find their modest recreation, all via the resources Penn employed. He made art with similar industrial methods. A direct connection is made via means. Editor: It's interesting to view a photograph usually seen as fine art as documentation of material conditions of daily existence. Curator: Right, by seeing it as the outcome of very particular labouring practices both inside and outside of the frame. It moves beyond merely a “picture” of a couple in France. Editor: Thank you! I will always look at material choices more closely!