Middle Creek Near Mt. Blackmore, Montana c. 1870

Curator: This is William Henry Jackson’s "Middle Creek Near Mt. Blackmore, Montana," a photograph showcasing the American West. What’s your initial take? Editor: It feels…staged, somehow. Romantic, but also like a diorama for colonial ambitions. The landscape is beautiful, yet the narrative seems carefully constructed to naturalize settlement. Curator: Perhaps. Jackson, as a photographer for the U.S. Geological Survey, aimed to capture the sublime. The horses and figures almost seem like props, wouldn’t you say? Editor: Exactly! And in what ways does his work advance the imperialist gaze? How does Jackson's vision reflect a drive to document, possess, and control the land? Curator: A point well taken. Editor: Ultimately, I see this image as more than just a pretty scene; it's a document of its time, implicated in broader narratives of power and displacement. Curator: Yes. The scene is a record, but also an act of imagination.