IJsformaties bij de Niagarawatervallen 1866 - 1910

Curator: Our featured piece is a stereoscopic photograph, "IJsformaties bij de Niagarawatervallen"—or "Ice Formations at Niagara Falls"—dating between 1866 and 1910, by George E. Curtis. Editor: The tonality is striking! The delicate grays and whites give the falls an ethereal, almost ghostly presence. Curator: The choice of gelatin silver print for the stereo cards was crucial in rendering that tonality. Mass production of the stereoviews allowed for wide dissemination of imagery, influencing perceptions of landscape and progress, which had ramifications on the developing tourist industry at Niagara. Editor: Observe how the composition draws the eye upward, emphasizing the immense scale and power of the frozen falls. Those lines formed by the icicles are superb—a dramatic convergence. The balance between the icy architecture and the veiled cascade creates a pleasing visual tension, doesn't it? Curator: Precisely. Early photographic landscapes like this served commercial interests, feeding the burgeoning interest in the sublime of nature and its commodification, influencing perceptions of the American landscape. The use of the stereo medium made it even more alluring. It invited consumption—both literally and figuratively. Editor: What impresses me is the tension captured. We get a frozen, seemingly static moment in nature presented through dynamic and ever changing falling water. It feels like the absolute silence one only gets in winter, magnified by the roar of the falls underneath it all. Curator: And don’t forget the backdrops of social change happening in this same period. Labor practices within the photography industry, including who was able to afford a camera and develop film—all shaped what and who we see, or don't see, in these images. The production of these became intertwined with the creation and promotion of an "American" identity, ripe for consumerism. Editor: An evocative intersection of art, commerce, and the awesome power of nature. Curator: Exactly. A manufactured vista built with intention, shaped for broad distribution and consumption.