Callithamnion hookeri c. 1843 - 1853

Editor: This is Anna Atkins' "Callithamnion hookeri", created sometime between 1843 and 1853. It’s a cyanotype, so it has this beautiful Prussian blue color. The plant itself seems almost ghostly. How does this piece fit into the context of the art world at that time? Curator: Well, this wasn't really conceived as "art" in the fine art sense that we think of it today. Atkins was a botanist, and photography, especially cyanotype, was a tool. Consider how scientific illustration was being revolutionized; accurate visual records were incredibly valuable, and photography provided a democratizing way of image capture. Editor: Democratizing how? Curator: It provided visual information in a way that relied less on the subjective skill of the artist-illustrator. Atkins directly placed the algae onto treated paper. Light and chemistry did the work of “drawing.” Think about the explosion of botanical knowledge during this period. Imperial projects, global trade, scientific expeditions... these fueled the need for detailed visual records of the natural world. Editor: So, was Atkins intentionally subverting artistic conventions, or just embracing new technology? Curator: Perhaps a bit of both! As a woman scientist, her access to the established art world would have been limited. Photography offered her a space outside those constraints. She was contributing to scientific knowledge, yes, but also carving a niche for herself. We might view it now as challenging traditional notions of art precisely because it existed in this liminal space. Editor: It’s fascinating how science and art could be so intertwined then. I'll never look at cyanotypes the same way again. Curator: Absolutely, seeing this work through a historical lens helps us recognize its many layers of meaning – its social, scientific, and artistic impact. It prompts us to rethink what gets defined as art, and by whom.