Vier musicerende shintopriesters te Nara before 1883

Editor: Here we have an albumen print entitled "Four Musicians, Shinto Priests, Nara", dating to before 1883, by Hugues Krafft. I’m immediately struck by the contrast between the solemnity of their posture and the implied sound of music, especially within a religious context. What should we be looking for here? Curator: A key question to ask is what power dynamics are at play when a Western photographer captures religious figures in Japan during this period. How does the act of photographing – and disseminating – this image reinforce colonial narratives? Think about whose gaze is privileged, whose story is being told, and to what end? Editor: That's a perspective I hadn’t considered. So it's less about the actual scene depicted and more about the historical context of the image creation? Curator: It’s about both. These priests are positioned within a specific cultural and political moment. What did it mean to represent Japanese spirituality for a European audience hungry for exoticism and, perhaps, justification for their presence? How do elements of traditional Japanese art and philosophies survive through or are subdued by, the photographic medium, loaded with its own social implications? Consider the composition – is there an intentional exoticisation present? Editor: Now that you mention it, framing these religious figures does put them almost on display, as cultural specimens. Is it too strong to say this photograph plays a role in othering them? Curator: "Othering" might indeed be the appropriate lens through which to understand the social and political work being done. Editor: Thanks, I'm learning that art exists beyond the object itself, intertwined with culture and politics. Curator: Exactly, every artistic choice reflects cultural assumptions and societal power dynamics.