Looppad langs de Gorges du Trient c. 1860 - 1880

Curator: Let's take a look at "Looppad langs de Gorges du Trient," an albumen print made by Ernest Eléonor Pierre Lamy somewhere between 1860 and 1880. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: It’s quite dramatic, isn't it? The light is very atmospheric; I feel almost suspended, as if I am looking down into an abyss. It gives me a touch of vertigo! Curator: Exactly. It is a sublime landscape capturing a manufactured element. We can consider the labor of constructing that walkway hugging the cliff's edge—the physical effort, the access to materials. The albumen print itself involves a delicate process: coating paper with egg white and silver nitrate before printing. Think of the specialized knowledge and equipment involved. Editor: Absolutely. I also think of it as more than a landscape, though. The winding walkway makes me imagine figures making their way across that tiny platform as they try to come into their own being, teetering on the brink of existence. Or am I taking it too far? Curator: Not at all. Perhaps that wooden bridge is more than just for observation; maybe it's about access, facilitating both tourism and the exploitation of resources within the gorge. We are considering then, who benefits and who labors within these dramatic spaces. Editor: You're right, there's that too. So much about landscape is constructed by our presence. It almost demands a presence – even back then, with such elaborate technology! Curator: These images are produced for stereoscopes. We would look into this device to feel like we are viewing in 3D. Early tourism as virtual reality! It transforms the passive viewer into an active participant, of course a constructed perception. Editor: I never thought of stereoscopic prints that way before; you've spun it for me, truly. Looking at "Looppad langs de Gorges du Trient" I won't be thinking the same way again. Thanks.