Untitled c. 1911

Editor: This is an untitled photograph by Spooner & Wells, dating to around 1911. It’s a gelatin silver print depicting a car in profile. The car looks almost like a luxury item frozen in time, like a perfectly crafted machine meant only for display. What stands out to you in this piece? Curator: Well, focusing on the materiality of it, think about gelatin silver prints as products. This photograph isn’t just documenting a car; it's showcasing a new industrial marvel through another, equally complex industrial process: photography. Who had access to these technologies at this time? Who were they meant for, and what did they signify about the evolving landscape of early 20th-century consumption and technological advancement? Editor: So you're saying that the photograph itself is a product of the same societal forces that produced the car? The photo isn't just *of* something, it *is* something, meant to be bought and sold and signal something to consumers. Curator: Exactly. Consider the labor involved, from the production of gelatin and silver to the photographer’s work and the dissemination of the image. Photography like this made the upper class visible, fueling desires. It participated in the creation of class aspirations for more people to be included as consumers of such vehicles. What about the formal composition? Does that play a role? Editor: I guess the almost sterile composition amplifies that sense. The plain background and meticulous detail highlight the car’s form, making it an object of desire but also somehow distanced and untouchable. Curator: Precisely. The photograph participates in the machine-like, cold, efficiency that made such technologies possible and desired in this period. Think about how that cold efficiency permeates the society in general. This opens doors to seeing a car as another luxury commodity made available to consumers. This one simple car is made possible through other forms of human effort like labor. Editor: That’s fascinating; I hadn't considered the photograph itself as being so embedded in the social context. It makes me look at it completely differently. Curator: Indeed. Thinking about art through its production and consumption offers such valuable insights.