Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton. Hampton Normal and Industrial School: Armstrong and Slater Memorial Trade School. 1899 - 1900

Curator: This is Frances Benjamin Johnston's photograph, "Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton. Hampton Normal and Industrial School: Armstrong and Slater Memorial Trade School." Editor: The first thing that strikes me is the stark stillness—the bare trees feel like silent sentinels guarding the school. Curator: Note how Johnston uses the trees not just as compositional elements, framing the building, but as structural pillars themselves. The geometry provides a rhythm. Editor: Rhythm, yes, but also a complex iconography. Trees often represent growth and knowledge, yet these are leafless. Is there perhaps a duality being suggested here? Curator: Duality is certainly present in the tonality, ranging from almost pure white to nearly black, creating dramatic contrasts and textural complexity. Editor: It's a powerful image, prompting reflection on history and the symbols we choose to represent it. Curator: Indeed; the photograph's starkness urges us to confront the very structures, both literal and symbolic, of education.