Trees and Crows 

Curator: It’s remarkable, isn’t it? Editor: Indeed. This is "Trees and Crows" by Abbas Kiarostami. It’s difficult to pin down a precise date. The image presents these intensely textured fields, almost like corduroy. What strikes me is the starkness, and how lines carved across the landscape influence how we perceive space. What do you see in this photograph? Curator: Well, beyond the aesthetic, I see a layered history of agricultural labor. Those textured fields didn’t simply *appear*. Each line, each change in tone, represents a cycle of cultivation and harvest, a human intervention in the landscape for material gain. Think of the machinery involved, the economic systems at play. The image becomes less about picturesque beauty, and more about the industrialization of agriculture. Editor: That's an interesting take. I initially focused on the almost abstract quality of the lines, the lone cyclist… Curator: But doesn’t the cyclist highlight that human intervention, that constant movement and labor across this cultivated space? Consider what is not included – we have no close ups of materials and method. Kiarostami doesn't represent the farmer. What effect does that omission have on the photo? Editor: I hadn't considered the missing aspects of the photographic material or that relationship between landscape and the human work until now. I suppose the cyclist becomes a stand-in. The emphasis is subtly shifted. Curator: Exactly! It urges us to analyze the structures beneath. To examine not just *what* is depicted, but *how* it got there. How is this material product achieved, presented, and, consumed? Editor: I am going to explore photography's capacity to both obscure and reveal processes. Thank you. Curator: It’s a lens we can use for any art form. Think of the material and human labor when looking at all the art throughout this gallery.