Untitled #3 (Cozad-Bates House) 2017

Curator: Dawoud Bey's "Untitled #3 (Cozad-Bates House)," a gelatin-silver print from 2017. My initial impression is dominated by a sense of profound unease. Editor: Yes, there’s a murkiness, an obscurity that I find rather compelling. Note the subtle gradations within the monochromatic palette. The textures—the brick, the foliage—achieve a tactile quality through the careful manipulation of light and shadow. Curator: The image evokes that feeling you get passing an old building; there’s an entire story embedded. Here we have the Cozad-Bates House, a landmark of Cleveland's Black history, shrouded in shadows. Consider the cultural weight of the location, almost obscured—quite deliberately, I suspect. The vines crawling up the walls, are they a sign of neglect or resilience? Editor: The composition reinforces the conceptual underpinnings. The dense foreground of foliage obscures a clear view of the building, complicating the visual plane. This obstruction prompts a cognitive processing. What is being concealed? Why are some architectural details emphasized? Curator: Precisely. Windows, dark rectangles punctuating the brick facade, are framing absence, acting as portals into unseen histories. The overgrowth, beyond being a mere visual element, becomes symbolic— a living embodiment of the layers of time and experience accumulated. Editor: Let’s look closely at the materiality. Bey's choice of gelatin-silver print imparts a certain luminosity despite the darkness of the scene. It possesses this incredible tonal range, a certain silvery depth, don't you think? The careful printing intensifies its melancholic qualities. Curator: Agreed, it’s an intense melancholy. Bey makes it impossible to separate the aesthetic and the historical, which is what elevates this above a straightforward landscape photograph. The image serves as a powerful mnemonic device. Editor: An insightful observation. The deliberate artistic choices certainly enhance both our optical experience and conceptual reading of the work. Curator: Exactly. The visual language enhances the emotional impact. I leave with questions about what’s visible and invisible within history itself. Editor: It’s the layering, indeed, between form and content, that delivers its staying power; food for contemplation!