Gezicht op een rivier in een landschap met bomen c. 1888 - 1893

Editor: Here we have "Gezicht op een rivier in een landschap met bomen", which translates to "View of a River in a Landscape with Trees," a gelatin silver print made sometime between 1888 and 1893. It's attributed to Impi Backman. What strikes me is how muted the tones are. How do you approach interpreting this kind of work? Curator: As a materialist, I focus on the processes and conditions of production. Consider the gelatin silver print itself. What were the social and economic factors that allowed for photography to become a widely accessible means of documentation and, indeed, art making by the late 19th century? Editor: That's a good point. It's not just a straightforward "landscape." Curator: Precisely! The industrialization of photographic materials made capturing such a view – previously the domain of painting – relatively easier. Also, the specific qualities of a gelatin silver print contribute significantly. What do you notice about its texture and tone, particularly in relation to labor? Editor: It feels quite mass-produced, almost clinical in its evenness, a stark contrast to the laborious mark-making you’d find in, say, an oil painting of a similar scene. There’s a level of efficiency. Curator: Exactly! The very act of photographing flattens the world into a commodity to be consumed, an idea, or perhaps, an advertisement. Editor: So you are saying that while ostensibly this photo represents nature it also implicitly reflects the rise of industrialized society, the consumption of art, the production and dissemination of photography. I see that perspective! Curator: And perhaps even the shift in our relationship with landscape, now framed and presented for easy consumption. Considering the material conditions opens up so much, doesn’t it? Editor: Definitely. I hadn't considered how much the materiality reflects these changes, beyond just being a picture. Thanks!