Temple at Manglaor before 1895

This photograph shows the Temple at Manglaor, taken by Frederick Saint John Gore sometime before 1903. The image is made through a chemical process that transforms light into a fixed image on paper. Notice the strong horizontals and verticals in the temple’s construction. It appears to be made primarily of wood, with a steeply pitched roof, likely made of overlapping planks. The visible construction suggests skilled labor. The regular, repeating forms of the temple contrast with the organic, irregular shapes of the surrounding landscape. Consider, too, the social context of photography in this period. It was increasingly accessible, but still required some technical expertise and equipment, making it a tool of documentation and exploration for those with the means. Paying attention to materials, processes, and context, we understand how photographs like this one participated in the broader project of documenting and representing distant places, and how it challenges our traditional distinctions between art, craft, and documentation.