Falls of the Ammonoosuc 1855 - 1875

Editor: Here we have "Falls of the Ammonoosuc," a gelatin silver print by the Kilburn Brothers, created sometime between 1855 and 1875. The composition, with its blurred waterfall against the stark rocks, evokes a sense of powerful nature, yet strangely softened. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: The materiality of this photograph itself is paramount. We're seeing not just a representation of a natural landscape, but the outcome of a specific industrialized process: the gelatin silver print. How does this medium influence the understanding and consumption of the depicted landscape? The commodification of nature here is achieved through the repeatable photographic print. Editor: So you are saying this landscape photo has been turned into a mass produced souvenir? Curator: Precisely. Think about the labor involved in creating such prints, then distributing them widely. The very act of mass-producing these idyllic landscapes facilitates a different type of "experience" with nature; one filtered through industrial production. This wasn't necessarily about connecting with the sublime, as much as it was consuming a mediated version of it. Editor: I hadn’t considered the print itself as part of the meaning. So the Hudson River School, typically known for its romantic paintings of landscapes, enters the realm of mass production through photography? Curator: Exactly! And with that shift comes altered consumption of the environment, and potentially, also environmental consciousness itself. Editor: That gives me a lot to think about. I never thought of landscape photography that way. Thanks for the different view point. Curator: Likewise. It's in thinking critically about the intersection of material, production, and the social sphere that we find true meaning.