Fotoreproductie van een gravure van Curlers, naar het schilderij door Sir George Harvey before 1870

This is a photographic reproduction of an engraving of a painting by Sir George Harvey, made by Thomas Annan. We see the sport of curling enacted on a frozen loch in Scotland. The original painting would have been made with brushes and oil paint, and the engraving with metal plates and acid, each stage involving a high degree of skill and labor. Annan’s photograph flattens these actions to a chemically-sensitized surface. A process of mediation is thus set in motion; the image reproduced and distributed, made available to a wide audience. Considered in this light, the photograph is more than just a document. It is itself a product of industrial techniques, the creation of a repeatable image, and the transformation of culture into a commodity. Annan’s work prompts us to think about how technologies of reproduction alter our relationship to art, labor, and leisure.