Man schiet op een vastgebonden beer in een besneeuwd landschap 1868 - 1890

Editor: Here we have "Ice Grove-No. 291" from between 1868 and 1890, attributed to S. Davis, it’s a photograph and the tones are very delicate and monochromatic. I’m curious about the landscape, how would you interpret the materials at play here? Curator: This photograph speaks volumes about the industrial context of its time. Photography itself, by the late 19th century, was no longer a novelty but an increasingly accessible technology. Consider the paper it’s printed on, the chemicals used in development, and the means of distribution for these scenic views of Niagara Falls. They were essentially commodities. How does seeing it through that lens shift your understanding? Editor: I guess I hadn’t thought of landscape photography as part of that larger economic system. So, you're saying it’s not just about capturing the beauty of nature, but about the mass production and consumption of images? Curator: Precisely. These images were products intended for widespread consumption. Look closely, and consider the labor involved in producing and circulating these stereo cards and images: the photographer, the factory workers, the vendors, and the very act of travelling to capture a specific view. Also how the raw resources needed affect their accessibility. Do you see how the seemingly innocent landscape connects to broader networks of capital and labour? Editor: Absolutely! It definitely changes how I view these "scenic views." It’s not just art, but it’s also a manufactured item caught up in the economy of tourism and technological progress. I hadn’t really connected those dots. Curator: Understanding the materiality of art offers a new way of engaging and thinking critically, by grounding artworks within larger socio-economic realities of its time. Editor: Definitely gives you something else to consider and really makes me think.