Stilleven before 1898

This is a photograph, *Stilleven*, by Albert Canfyn. Though undated, Canfyn was active at a time when photography was becoming more accessible, yet artistic control over the medium remained limited. This still life is presented within a larger context, as an illustration in a book about photographic printing. This draws our attention to the labor involved in photography, the gestures and movements that are required to produce the final image. Consider the labor required to create the objects in the photograph. The teapots, vases, and other objects are made using distinct artistic techniques. Then the labor to arrange these disparate elements together for the purpose of making an image. The multiple layers of creative labor involved in the photograph reflect the complex identities and social contexts that intertwine within the frame. It is a meditation on the nature of image-making itself.