Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton. Hampton Normal and Industrial School: Agencies Promoting Assimilation of the Negro. Training Negro Girls in Domestic Science. Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton, Va.: Setting the Table. 1899 - 1900

Editor: This is a photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston, showing a woman setting a table at the Hampton Normal and Industrial School. The objects – the table, the china, even the fruit – they all look so deliberately placed. How would you interpret this work? Curator: Focusing on the means of production and social context, I see this photograph as documenting the labor and training processes at the Hampton Institute. The material reality of domestic science education is central, highlighting the consumption and social roles these students were being prepared for. It’s not just a picture; it’s evidence of a system. Editor: So, it's less about aesthetics and more about the material circumstances and the work being done? Curator: Precisely. It challenges the traditional boundaries between art and documentation, compelling us to consider the social implications embedded in the image's materiality. Editor: That gives me a lot to think about; I see the image differently now. Curator: Indeed, considering materiality is a good way to approach photographic work like this.