Dimensions: height 78 mm, width 118 mm, thickness 15 mm, width 1368 mm
Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain
Editor: We're looking at "Leporelloalbum met twaalf foto's van Kassel," made between 1860 and 1880 by an anonymous artist. It seems to be a collection of mixed media prints and photography, and given the title on the cover, maybe meant as a souvenir album. I'm immediately drawn to the sepia tones, giving it such an antique, almost wistful feel. What catches your eye when you look at it? Curator: Ah, the past whispers, doesn't it? I see more than just sepia, darling; I see the yearning for permanence. Back then, photography was still quite novel, and binding them into an album like this screams "Look! I was here! I saw this!" I imagine someone carefully curating these little moments, these 'memories' of Kassel. But isn't it funny how what was once cutting-edge technology – albumen prints! – becomes a symbol of bygone days? What do you think this says about memory itself? Editor: That’s such an interesting perspective. The physical nature of the album does lend a sense of permanence. It's also a manufactured experience of the place, right? Edited, compiled… maybe even idealized? Curator: Precisely! It's like Instagram, but with more chemicals and fewer filters, ironically! The historical font lends a gravity to what might simply be vacation snaps. One has to ask, how much of this is truly Kassel and how much is artful staging, of constructing Kassel through image and type? I think the artist, by choosing to frame and present Kassel in this manner, speaks not only *of* a place but *to* our very notion of seeing. I am simply thrilled by that proposition. What has shifted for you in seeing this piece? Editor: Thinking about how staged these kinds of "documentary" images from the period can be has definitely complicated my view of its initial wistful quality! Now I am starting to consider all of the labor, intention, and invention in assembling it. Thanks! Curator: And that's the magic of it all, darling! We begin with the wistful whisper and end questioning what is behind that veil. It's less about the place and more about how we construct and then share that idea. Art always offers a riddle worth pondering.
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