Black spruce 1894

This is an image of Black Spruce trees, documented by G.H. Rison through photography. Look closely, and you’ll see that the photographs are not presented as singular works of art, but bound as pages in a book. This changes how we view them. They become a record, an archive, a tool for learning about the natural world. Consider the labor involved, not only in capturing these images, but also in the process of printing, binding, and distributing this knowledge. The book itself becomes an artifact, embodying the era's values of scientific observation, documentation, and dissemination of information. The images transform nature into a commodity, aligning it with systems of production, and perhaps even exploitation. This interplay between nature, technology, and knowledge is a fascinating insight into our relationship with the environment. It challenges the divisions between art, craft, and the broader social context.