River View of the Royal Arches, Yosemite 1861

Curator: Looking at Carleton Watkins' "River View of the Royal Arches, Yosemite" from 1861, what strikes you? Editor: It has a haunting quality. The light seems to dissolve the landscape, turning the massive rock face into something almost ethereal. There's a palpable sense of solitude. Curator: Absolutely. Watkins created this gelatin-silver print using a mammoth plate camera, a remarkable feat for the time. The wet collodion process he used involved preparing, exposing, and developing the plate within minutes. Imagine the labor involved in hauling such equipment through Yosemite! Editor: The photographic process becomes significant. The monumental scale is striking, especially when considering the history of land appropriation. Indigenous dispossession occurred concurrently with the documentation and celebration of these spaces. Who had access to this majestic view, and who was systematically excluded? Curator: Watkins aimed to depict Yosemite's grandeur, appealing to wealthy easterners and influencing westward expansion, also it is interesting to consider the market he was trying to target. These landscape photographs fed into a broader discourse on Manifest Destiny and environmental preservation driven by elites. The raw materials also deserve attention – the silver, the glass, the chemicals: they were often obtained through exploitative colonial trade routes. Editor: Exactly. While the image promotes an untouched paradise, it also hides the complex socioeconomic processes underpinning its very creation. The viewer is implicated too, consuming a carefully constructed wilderness narrative. It encourages a particular relationship to nature that prioritizes individual experience above all else. Curator: It is a reminder of the many layers of art-making, far beyond aesthetic appreciation. The photograph's ability to shape perceptions, bolster colonial narratives, and contribute to socio-economic hierarchies cannot be overlooked. Editor: Indeed, a sublime view masking deeper injustices. Reflecting on this makes me aware that it still deeply resonates today.