Horses rest 2018

Curator: Alfred Freddy Krupa took this arresting gelatin-silver print, titled "Horses rest," in 2018. The setting feels rural. Editor: It does. I immediately feel this melancholic stillness. The monochrome palette is stark but beautiful, giving the horses a statuesque presence against that ominous sky. It's the kind of scene where you can almost feel the dampness in the air, hear the soft breaths of the horses, smell earth... You know, if you were there, which sadly we aren't. Curator: Gelatin-silver prints were common in the 20th century for their sharpness and tonal range, and I think Krupa leverages both here to amplify the feeling. It’s interesting how a photographic choice roots the scene in a very specific time, while the horses themselves seem timeless, almost archetypal. The history of horse-and-rider imagery stretches back to antiquity. Editor: True. And I think the setting helps – those stark, skeletal trees contribute to that agelessness. They stand there with the horses in this quiet conspiracy. I wonder what they're thinking. What it means to be a horse just... existing. We so often portray horses in motion, powerful and free. But here? Just gentle repose, against oblivion! Cheerful! Curator: Well, the artist has given us a study of domesticated animals that would otherwise exist with people. Editor: I think the horses serve as the primary focal point. Curator: They do stand in the immediate foreground of the work. They’re set against that atmospheric background which makes their dark forms prominent. Photography is used as evidence in our world, for photojournalism, art, memory, evidence. These images also reflect the sociopolitical views in which they were produced, but as a counter-point, Krupa creates this rather universal moment here. Editor: Yes, even though Krupa used such a historically laden technique, I am transported into their quiet moment of just “horseness.” The world seems quiet. It beckons... or is it warning? Who knows, but these steeds do not seem to mind at all! Curator: Thank you, indeed, these were my thoughts precisely!