Gezicht op de abdijtoren te Middelburg c. 1890 - 1910

This photograph of the abbey tower in Middelburg was made by the Van Straaten brothers, using a process that, by the time of this image, was no longer particularly novel. Photography had, from its very inception, raised questions about labor and production. Unlike a painting, where the mark of the artist is highly evident, a photograph relies on a mechanical process. This raises the question: where does the artistry lie? Is it in the eye of the photographer, who chooses the subject and composition? Or is it in the darkroom, where the image is developed and printed? Or is it in the skilled work of those who manufacture the lenses, cameras, and chemical solutions that make photography possible? These very questions preoccupied thinkers in the early 20th century, most famously Walter Benjamin. And in the end, photography, like all forms of production, depends on both technology and human agency. So next time you see a photograph, think about all the hands that went into making it.