Spoorlijn van San Cristóbal naar San Miguel de Tucumán in Argentinië c. 1890 - 1895

Editor: Here we have a photograph from around 1890-1895 entitled 'Spoorlijn van San Cristóbal naar San Miguel de Tucumán in Argentinië' by Georges Poulet. The blue tone gives it a ghostly, historical feel. It shows a railway being built. What strikes you about this image? Curator: Immediately, I see a document of production. This image, likely a cyanotype given its blue hue, highlights the material realities of building a railway in Argentina at the turn of the century. Note the raw materials scattered— timber, tracks. It's not just about the romantic landscape; it's about the labour required to transform it. How does the composition contribute to this sense of labour? Editor: The railway tracks leading into the distance draw your eye, but the workers in the background almost blend into the environment. Curator: Exactly. The photographic process itself plays a role here. Cyanotypes were often used for technical drawings and documentation. The accessibility and relative ease of the cyanotype process connects directly with its use here as a functional means of documentation of construction and progress. Think about what the photographer, Poulet, might have been intending to document - beyond the immediate construction - with these images. Editor: So you are saying that this image has less to do with art and more to do with… labour? Curator: Not 'less to do with art', but it challenges a certain elitist definition of what art *should* be. This photo forces us to acknowledge the global supply chains, the exploitation of resources and labour, that enabled Argentina's infrastructure development. It's beautiful, but also deeply implicated. Editor: I never considered how much the medium itself speaks to the message. Thanks for broadening my understanding! Curator: My pleasure. Looking at the materiality is critical to fully interpreting many works and it has certainly shifted my thinking on this one!