Eugen Wachenheimer in het uniform van de Duitse Kaiserliche Marine en portret van Isabel Wachenheimer, 1914-1943, Duitsland/Nederland/Turkije? 1914 - 1943

Editor: Here we have “Eugen Wachenheimer in het uniform van de Duitse Kaiserliche Marine en portret van Isabel Wachenheimer," two albumen prints that have been dated between 1914 and 1943. They’re stuck into what seems to be a photo album. The portraits are quite formal, but there's a stark contrast between the military uniform and what seems to be a regular woman in civilian clothes. What can you tell me about it? Curator: The material presentation itself speaks volumes. Pasted into an album, these photographs are not presented as singular works of art, but as part of a larger collection of family memories and documents. The albumen print, a process popular for its detail, shows us a specific choice related to cost and accessibility within a particular social class. Note the dates. This was created over a tumultuous period spanning WWI and WWII. Editor: That's true, these photos capture the world through the people, not events. Why place them in an album, versus display the individual portrait prints? Curator: Albums create a narrative through curation. Consider the act of pasting: a domestic act, often associated with women. Labor is obscured yet vital. Albumen printing, a complex chemical process, places emphasis on labor within visual reproduction, especially as industrial forces change art, culture, and society. Whose labor do you see as primary here, the photographer, the printer, or even the family members placing the photograph in an album? Editor: I never thought of it that way. Seeing this not as fine art, but as a cultural and even manufacturing product, helps me consider new ways to consider photographic practice. It does feel more personal now. Curator: Exactly. Focusing on production helps us see these portraits beyond representation and unlocks stories about family life, economic conditions, and even evolving technologies during times of immense change. Editor: Thanks for pointing out these subtleties. Now I will think of photos in an album as an art object assembled with as much intent as a painting in a gallery.