Field-Star [From the series Cancellations] 1974 - 1978

Curator: Before us is "Field-Star," a gelatin silver print realized by Thomas Barrow between 1974 and 1978, part of his "Cancellations" series. Editor: Well, my first impression is one of disquiet. There's something decidedly unsettling about this landscape, dominated by these…scratches? They disrupt any sense of serene landscape. Curator: Exactly! Barrow employs these 'cancellations' as deliberate interventions. Note how the diagonal lines intersect, fracturing the visual field. We can see a rather plain scene, an anonymous structure sitting atop a small hill, maybe an observatory. Barrow renders this mundane setting problematic. Editor: You call them interventions, but they feel aggressive, almost violent, disrupting the photographic surface. I'm interested in the observatory. In that period, what could it represent symbolically or practically to a public audience? Curator: I suspect this might come down to how power structures in place during that period felt about sharing the exploration of knowledge and our natural world. Also the cancellation mark, these are akin to erasures and speaks volumes about the artist and the creative process, and, potentially, about the prevailing norms for artistic expression at that time. Editor: The fact that Barrow obscures our clear view is central. In social commentary of the era, was that something that might evoke the obfuscation of knowledge and cultural narratives, maybe related to scientific exploration? Curator: Precisely. And it forces us to actively decode the image. The artist's gesture makes us question the photographic medium and the objectivity that it asserts. This prompts introspection, doesn't it? What constitutes a faithful image? Editor: I’d also argue that Barrow’s work embodies the era’s counter-cultural attitudes towards what could be labeled as societal progress. The dark tone casts a veil that almost asks for a rejection of this development, both literal and symbolic. Curator: An evocative interpretation indeed. "Field-Star" makes a very concise point in photography's history. The stark interplay of image and cancellation transcends pure representation, sparking an aesthetic contemplation that continues to stimulate questions of truth and power. Editor: Absolutely. Ultimately, this artwork acts as a catalyst to ask many questions regarding progress, knowledge and power of definition. It holds profound meaning in both our histories and ourselves.