Column Rocks, Foot of the Grand Canyon c. 1870s

Curator: This is William Henry Jackson's "Column Rocks, Foot of the Grand Canyon" held in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Whoa, it’s like staring into the earth's raw bones. Stark, powerful. I feel so small. Curator: Jackson made many photographs like this as part of geographical surveys to document the American West. He was showing folks what was out there. Editor: You know, the trees look like tiny dark stitches holding the landscape together. Like if they weren't there, everything would just crumble. Curator: He was instrumental in creating a public awareness of these landscapes and making a case for their protection, which is why these landscapes are so well known today. Editor: It's funny how a picture can be a kind of call to arms, right? Beauty as a political weapon. Curator: Photography played a crucial role in shaping public opinion and driving westward expansion as well as its preservation. Editor: Looking at it now, it's a humbling reminder of our fleeting presence against the grand scale of geologic time. Pretty cool, right?