Eagle Gate gezien richting State Capitol, Salt Lake City 1924 - 1926

This is a stereo card of the Eagle Gate in Salt Lake City by J. Dearden Holmes, and its sepia tones make me think about how we construct our memory of the past. It's not just about what we remember, but how we remember it. Stereo cards create an immersive experience with two nearly identical photographs side-by-side, giving the illusion of depth. Looking at this, I'm struck by the stark simplicity and clarity of the image. The Eagle Gate looms, a symbolic gateway, with the State Capitol a distant beacon. The composition feels very direct, very present, but the sepia tones give it this patina of distance. I think what interests me most is how the gate, an icon of westward expansion, is presented through this very precise and almost scientific medium. It reminds me how all art-making is a form of translation, filtering our experiences into something tangible, something we can hold and contemplate. Like the paintings of Edward Hopper, the artist has captured a quiet, uncanny beauty in the everyday.