Mine Superintendent 1936

Curator: So, here we have Ernest Fiene's 1936 print, "Mine Superintendent." The title alone evokes a certain sense of authority and labor. Editor: My first impression is the stark contrast. The composition feels almost confrontational, placing us right there in the dimly lit space. The superintendent's gaze… it's assessing, calculating, wouldn't you say? Curator: Absolutely. Fiene's known for capturing the spirit of American industry, especially during the Depression era. What strikes me is how he uses the print medium, those sharp, clean lines, to convey both the toughness of the work and the hierarchy within the mining environment. The looming figure is contrasted against the toil of the labor force. Editor: And that looming figure – a white man. Consider the socio-economic structures, who occupies the position of power while black bodies endure the depths of physical labor, unseen? Even the light, or lack of it, in this composition suggests power dynamics. One shines a literal light; the others are enshrouded, subjected to the gaze of the superintendant as they bear the literal and metaphorical weight of the work. Curator: That's a very potent reading, positioning the superintendent as almost an oppressor. It does highlight the social imbalances inherent in that setting. I always admired how Fiene, seemingly, made no moral judgment. Editor: Not making a judgement IS a judgement. The banality of unchecked, normalized capitalism that permits abuse. A sort of casual indifference towards dangerous practices and dehumanization. Is the gaze from the superintendent protective, paternal even? I would offer it is predatory. Curator: I hadn't considered predatory, but I suppose the very setting implies a preying upon the earth, doesn't it? Regardless, that penetrating gaze speaks volumes, doesn't it? Fiene was so adept at capturing the human condition amidst all that machinery and industry. Editor: Well, it certainly prompts a re-evaluation of whose condition is being captured, and whose is obscured, so, that is valuable indeed. The ability for art to bring to the surface a reckoning with an ugliness we, then and now, would rather deny. Curator: Yes, "ugliness" is spot on. Thank you, the added layers give this print such nuance, it is more complicated than first assumed.