Rotsformatie van Mont-Ussy in de bossen van Fontainebleau c. 1870 - 1900

This photograph of the Rotsformatie van Mont-Ussy, was made by J. Kühn. Rather than being 'taken' this picture was 'made' through a highly specific process, one which has its own inherent politics. Consider the labour involved: the mining of the silver used in the photographic emulsion, the skilled work of coating the glass plate, and the careful calculations required to capture this image. Photography in this period relied on a complex network of resource extraction and highly specialized skills, not unlike the industrial processes it often documented. The final sepia tone of the print also speaks to the materiality of the process, giving the scene a soft, almost dreamlike quality. It's a reminder that even seemingly objective records like photographs are the product of very specific material conditions and human interventions, which should challenge our traditional definitions of artmaking.