Gezicht op de Boulevard de la Sauvenière en de Sint-Martinusbasiliek, Luik 1862 - 1894

Editor: This is Joseph Kirsch’s photograph, "Gezicht op de Boulevard de la Sauveni\u00e8re en de Sint-Martinusbasiliek, Luik," a gelatin-silver print from sometime between 1862 and 1894. There’s something really still and quiet about it...a city captured at a near-standstill. How do you interpret this work? Curator: This image invites us to consider the rapid transformations cities underwent in the 19th century and question who benefited. Boulevards like this weren't just about aesthetics; they facilitated troop movement for quelling potential unrest from marginalized communities. Who do you imagine frequented this boulevard? Whose stories are silenced in this composition, and what might that silence tell us? Editor: That’s a really interesting point. I hadn't considered the power dynamics inherent in urban planning. The empty boulevard does seem to speak to a certain exclusion, or perhaps control. Curator: Exactly! The Basilica looming in the background further complicates this. Consider its symbolic weight—its relationship to power, faith, and the social order. Was Kirsch implicitly commenting on the Church's role in reinforcing these societal structures, or perhaps just documenting it? Editor: So, even a seemingly straightforward cityscape can reveal these deeper power dynamics and prompt critical questions about urban development and social control. I'll never look at a cityscape the same way again! Curator: Precisely. Seeing art as an artifact embedded in specific cultural, historical, and power-laden context, can allow us to understand whose narrative is often pushed aside or erased from history. This is not just about aesthetics but about a radical understanding of the self and other, and finding pathways towards justice and equity.