General George Armstrong Custer 1860 - 1876

Curator: Oh, it’s definitely giving me a sort of faded grandeur vibe. Stark, a little mournful almost, but resolute too. Editor: Well, here we have "General George Armstrong Custer", a gelatin-silver print, a photographic portrait created sometime between 1860 and 1876 by Brady’s National Photographic Portrait Galleries, now residing at the Art Institute of Chicago. Think about the meticulous process, the chemical baths, the darkroom… a world away from our digital clicks. Curator: Chemical alchemy indeed. And look at his posture, ramrod straight, that uniform immaculate. But those eyes… there’s something haunted there, isn’t there? Like he’s already seen his own ending. Of course, we know the ending… Little Bighorn casts a long shadow. Editor: Shadows are part of the appeal, don’t you think? Gelatin silver prints… the entire photographic process highlights issues of labor – who prepared the chemicals, who posed, who ultimately consumed these images. This wasn’t a snapshot; this was a manufactured image of power. Curator: And carefully consumed, wouldn't you agree? This image had power long before Little Bighorn; he was a celebrity. I'm wondering, did Custer fully grasp how he was being sold to the masses? Editor: Perhaps. This photo acted as an artifact of American militarism and self-mythologizing, commodified for popular consumption and reinforced ideas of conquest. Look at how carefully the photographer emphasizes Custer's sharp profile, while his uniform and perfectly groomed hair suggest a manufactured masculinity fit for popular consumption. Curator: A tangible symbol. What remains striking to me, despite the careful craft, is how it captures, or perhaps hints, at a complex human being underneath that symbol. The sadness, the ambition, even the fear… those glimmers are there in this very processed image. It feels terribly modern in that respect. Editor: Yes, a collision of worlds – process and product, image and the man. Even this conversation, a dialogue across time sparked by gelatin silver.