Panorama of State Buildings, from North East, World's Columbian Exposition 1894

Curator: William Henry Jackson captured this "Panorama of State Buildings, from North East, World's Columbian Exposition," offering a bird's eye view of the 1893 Chicago fair. Editor: It strikes me as both utopian and deeply unsettling. So much pristine architecture, so much... promise... juxtaposed with the historical realities of the era. Curator: Indeed, these state buildings served as showcases of regional identity and progress, carefully constructed to impress a global audience. It was a marketing exercise writ large. Editor: While also being a blatant display of power and exclusion. This "White City" conveniently obscured the displacement and marginalization of so many. Curator: Absolutely. Jackson's image, while seemingly celebratory, also inadvertently documents that carefully crafted image of American exceptionalism. The Ferris wheel looms in the background. Editor: Yes, a symbol of progress that also papers over a lot of social injustice. It makes me think about who was invited to the party, and who was left outside the gates. Curator: It reminds us that photographs are never neutral records but are shaped by perspective and intent. Editor: Precisely. Seeing this image today invites critical reflection on the narratives we construct and the histories we choose to remember.