Seattle 1987

Editor: This is Rosalind Solomon’s “Seattle,” from 1987, a black and white photograph. It strikes me as a very direct, unvarnished portrait. What jumps out at you? Curator: What interests me is how Solomon, through the reproducible medium of photography, confronts us with very specific material conditions. Look at the man’s denim jacket, the woman's patterned knit sweater – these garments speak to a particular socio-economic bracket and place, hinting at global trade and textile manufacturing practices. Editor: So, you see the clothing itself as carrying meaning beyond just…clothing? Curator: Exactly. Denim, for example, started as workwear, reflecting labor, now it is fashion. The very process of Solomon creating this image, choosing this setting and these subjects, implicates her, and us, in this system of image production and consumption. What about the formal aspects? The choice of black and white, the direct gaze of the subjects? How do those play into your reading? Editor: I hadn't thought about the black and white adding another layer to the materiality of it – removing color focuses us on the textures and surfaces, like the graininess of the print itself. And that direct gaze definitely makes you think about their lives beyond the image. Curator: It pushes us to consider not just *what* is being represented, but *how* and *why.* Ultimately, Solomon is reminding us of the labor involved not only in the making of the photograph, but also in the lives depicted within it. Editor: I'm starting to see how focusing on the material aspects can really deepen your understanding of the photographer’s intention and the photo's impact. Curator: Absolutely. By attending to materiality, we unearth stories woven into the very fabric of the image.