A Quality of Dancing, Pozos, Guanajuato, Mexico 1981

Editor: This is "A Quality of Dancing, Pozos, Guanajuato, Mexico" by Thomas Joshua Cooper, made in 1981. It’s a gelatin silver print, and it has this incredible gloomy feel to it. What captures your attention most about it? Curator: I find myself drawn to the tangible qualities, the print itself. The labor involved in creating such a rich, almost impenetrable darkness is substantial. Think about the darkroom, the developing process... How do you think the choice of gelatin silver as a medium impacts the overall effect? Editor: It definitely enhances that sense of history, of something almost archaeological being brought to the surface. Compared to digital photography, this seems so much more connected to a physical process. Curator: Exactly. The artist’s hand is almost literally present in the making of the image, imbuing the work with its aura. Also consider the socio-economic context. Landscape photography has traditionally been linked to wealth, to travel. Cooper ventured into specific geographic locales – How might these locations be linked to particular narratives? Editor: So you're saying the choice of Mexico isn't random; that even landscape is tied to power dynamics? Curator: Absolutely. Think about colonial histories and resource extraction, about access and perspective. Consider the materiality of the abandoned location – each ruined adobe speaks of labor and lost livelihoods. Editor: It's amazing how analyzing the physical components and the place can reveal so much more than just a pretty picture. I see how that really makes the viewer contemplate all of these invisible components embedded in the picture's context. Curator: Precisely, the artist makes tangible connections to the world, making them available to analysis. Editor: This has definitely changed my perspective. I’ll be looking at materials with a whole new set of questions from now on!