Colonne de Juillet op het Place de la Bastille, Parijs 1863 - 1875

Editor: This stereoscopic print, "Colonne de Juillet op het Place de la Bastille, Parijs," by Charles Dauvois, dating between 1863 and 1875, has a strikingly formal and staged feeling. It's hard to ignore the material object itself - this card with its doubled image. How do you interpret this work, especially considering its place in photographic history? Curator: As a stereoscopic daguerreotype print, its method of production speaks volumes. Consider the labor involved in creating multiple, seemingly identical images intended for mass consumption as a visual novelty. How does the monument—a symbol of revolution—become commodified through this reproducible technology? What is the social function of this type of stereoscopic print, bringing monuments to people at home? Editor: That's fascinating. The reproducibility almost undercuts the revolutionary spirit of the column itself. So, you're saying the mass production challenges the uniqueness or aura we might expect from a commemorative artwork? Curator: Precisely. And beyond that, the materials – the photographic chemicals, the paper, the very process of creating depth – each element contributes to a narrative about industrialization and the democratizing, but also potentially diluting, power of image reproduction. Who was consuming this? How did it affect their perception of the city and its history? Editor: I hadn't considered the broader implications of its mass-produced nature. Seeing it through that lens changes everything. Thanks for opening up new perspectives on material processes and social context. Curator: My pleasure. Thinking about the production and consumption of images alongside their subjects often reveals unseen layers of meaning and social influence.