A Night in Venice, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

Curator: It has an intriguing staged quality; the two performers captured in sepia tones project an image of ephemeral theatre. Editor: Indeed. This photograph is entitled "A Night in Venice," and is part of the Actors and Actresses series (N171) created for Old Judge Cigarettes by Goodwin & Company between 1886 and 1890. These were, essentially, collectible trading cards. Curator: So, a piece of promotional ephemera masquerading as art? I find it interesting that they employed what was, even then, photographic techniques, embedding the artistic process itself in mass-producible imagery. And 'A Night in Venice'... that conjures an image, only to show us these almost contorted poses. Is it supposed to be evocative or absurd? Editor: Well, the Old Judge Cigarettes series sought to capitalize on the burgeoning culture of celebrity and public performance. The actresses pictured were likely popular figures of their time, instantly recognizable to consumers, and this photo would function as both advertisement and a form of social currency. The romantic title clashes brilliantly with the medium. The staging here transforms "art" into advertisement. Curator: So it is a transactional form of visual pleasure, using photography in that interesting intermediary stage when it was not fully perceived to be “art”, per se. Editor: Exactly! The company traded upon societal interest. Think about the labor involved in producing thousands of these cards – the photography itself, the printing, the distribution networks, all contributing to the circulation of both images and capital. These cards provide such interesting insight into the Gilded Age’s cultural landscape and the role commercialization played in shaping artistic taste. Curator: And consumption on so many levels, of the spectacle of “Venice,” of the figures of these performers, and the very object upon which the photograph rests… an item for physical ingestion in the form of a cigarette. Editor: Precisely. The humble cigarette card provides a surprisingly complex commentary on commerce and cultural creation in the late 19th century. Curator: Seeing the processes in artwork such as these really makes you wonder what future scholars will examine in our current landscape of consumption and visual culture. Editor: Me too; each period reflects itself and anticipates its future in even its smallest commodities.