Kamerscherm en wierookbrander 1935

Editor: So this photograph, “Kamerscherm en wierookbrander,” or “Screen and Incense Burner,” made by Elsa Silberstein in 1935… it's giving me such a glimpse into another world, or another time. It’s stark, almost cold in its clarity. What strikes you about this particular photograph? Curator: For me, it’s all about the materials represented, and the *act* of representation. The gelatin-silver print flattens a three-dimensional reality – a screen and burner crafted, undoubtedly, from specific woods, metals, perhaps ivory – into a two-dimensional image intended for consumption. Editor: Consumption? Curator: Absolutely. Consider the audience viewing this photograph in 1935. What desires did it provoke? Were these objects of everyday use, or signs of status and access? How does the materiality of the photograph itself—the paper, the developing process—contribute to the object's cultural meaning? What labor went into both the *making* of the objects *and* their photographic depiction? Editor: So, you're saying the photograph isn't just *of* these things, but also part of a cycle of production and desire? Curator: Precisely! It is the record and also the instigator of it. Consider the presentation, mounted in the photo album. What message does this choice send? Is the artist pushing photography towards 'high art'? Editor: It changes my whole perspective. It's not just a still life; it's a statement about the things we value and how we create them. Thank you. Curator: And thank you. Looking closely at materials—both what's depicted and what's used to depict it—helps us decode the complicated relationship between art, labor, and social status.