California Street from Sansome Street, San Francisco, looking west 1887

Editor: This is Isaiah West Taber's photograph, "California Street from Sansome Street, San Francisco, looking west." It really captures the steepness of the city. How do you interpret this work in terms of the rapid development of San Francisco? Curator: The image speaks volumes about power and progress. Taber's lens aestheticizes westward expansion, but consider whose labor built those streets and buildings. Where are the marginalized communities in this vision of booming California? Editor: So, it's not just a city street but a statement about societal structures? Curator: Precisely! It invites us to question whose stories are centered and whose are erased in the narrative of urban development. Do you see how the angle both elevates and flattens the diverse experiences of San Franciscans? Editor: I do now. It's made me rethink the photo entirely. Curator: Excellent! Art should prompt these vital conversations.