Untitled c. 1865

Editor: This silver print, taken around 1865, captures an imposing urban building. It’s simply called "Untitled" and is by R.F. Adams. I’m struck by how this small object attempts to convey monumental scale. What can we learn from it? Curator: Considering its materiality, we must ask: what kind of labor was required to produce such an image during this time? From the mining and refining of silver, the production of photographic paper, to the act of capturing and developing the image, all speak to different kinds of exploitation and resource extraction central to capitalism. How does this context shape our reading of this architectural portrayal? Editor: That's fascinating. So, seeing it as *silver print* pushes us to think about the industrial processes behind it? It seems far removed from ideas like "artistic vision." Curator: Precisely. Look at the very format. It's a *carte-de-visite*, a calling card! Photography, as a mode of production here, served social functions beyond the purely aesthetic. Consider the consumption involved - a burgeoning middle class eager to participate in a new visual economy of portraiture and urban representation. How do these elements change our perception of "architecture"? Editor: I see. It becomes less about the building's design, and more about the *photo's* function and distribution. A mass-produced commodity in its own right. This connects high architecture with a very democratic media format. Curator: Yes! And thinking about materiality reminds us that even seemingly objective architectural photography is enmeshed within complex social, economic, and material networks. Editor: I hadn't thought of it that way at all. Looking at this now, I'm considering less its aesthetic qualities and more the hands that produced and circulated it. Curator: Exactly. It’s about tracing the material and social life of the image.