Untitled (Young Girl) 1839 - 1899

Editor: This daguerreotype, "Untitled (Young Girl)," made sometime between 1839 and 1899 by an anonymous artist, has a certain stillness that is almost haunting. What’s your perspective on this work? Curator: For me, this work highlights the complex social dynamics inherent in early photography. Think about the labor involved in creating a single daguerreotype, the specific materials, the silver-plated copper… it speaks to a whole system of extraction and production. How did access to these technologies shape representation itself? Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn't considered the cost and labor so explicitly. It makes the portrait feel more…deliberate. Curator: Precisely! It prompts us to consider who was being represented, and for what purposes. Also notice the elaborate case around the image – it transforms a photographic image into something precious, almost jewelry-like, doesn’t it? A consumer product for the burgeoning middle class, perhaps? Editor: It’s true, the case really elevates the image, I thought of it more as decorative. Curator: And perhaps also obscures, literally frames and contains the labor and materiality that go into making it. So, how does that materiality—the daguerreotype process and presentation—impact how we view this “young girl” today? Is she an individual, or a type? Editor: It really underscores the social and economic conditions surrounding its creation. Thank you! Curator: Indeed. It’s through investigating materials, techniques, and systems of production that we start to unearth deeper social meanings, a fresh way of approaching artworks.