Untitled (Stephen Johnson Field) 1854

Editor: Here we have an 1854 daguerreotype, an early photographic portrait, identified as Stephen Johnson Field. I'm struck by the way the gold frame almost overwhelms the image. What can you tell me about this photograph? Curator: Consider the daguerreotype itself as an object, a meticulously crafted item. The materials are critical. We're dealing with a silver-plated copper sheet, treated with chemicals, exposed to light, and then fixed. This wasn't just image-making, it was chemical processing, a form of early industrial craft. Think about the labor involved – from the silversmith to the photographer, all part of a burgeoning market for likenesses. Editor: So, it’s less about him as an individual and more about…the means of production? Curator: Exactly. The subject, Field, becomes secondary to the method. What did it mean to have your likeness captured this way in 1854? It signified a certain level of affluence, a participation in this new visual economy. The gold frame is another layer of consumption, further emphasizing the sitter’s status and the material value placed on representation. Is the artistry in the image itself, or in the skill of manipulating materials and positioning the sitter in this new economy of photography? Editor: I never thought about photography that way. It challenges my assumption about who or what should take center stage in terms of artistry and historical examination! Thanks. Curator: Thinking materially forces us to confront what's valued and how it’s valued, broadening our perspective on not only the object itself, but on the whole society that created it.