Annam, from the Dancing Girls of the World series (N185) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

Curator: Here we have "Annam," a print dating back to 1889, part of the "Dancing Girls of the World" series by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. It's currently residing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Well, isn’t she something! Right away I get this exotic perfume vibe—maybe sandalwood and something a little dangerous. It's vibrant but has a nostalgic film grain feel at the same time. Curator: That "dangerous" element probably comes from how these images participated in the wider trend of Orientalism. Annam, as a depiction of a woman from Southeast Asia—present-day Vietnam, specifically—would have been filtered through very specific Western fantasies and colonial assumptions. Editor: Fantasies? Sure, I see that. But the lines themselves have a lightness, a genuine fascination with her gesture. I mean, look at the curve of her arm, the little tilt of her hat—there’s an artfulness that feels more than just exploitation. Maybe that's me being too forgiving. Curator: I think that tension is crucial to understanding images like this. Consider the hat, for example. It is definitely an attempt at ethnographic accuracy, referencing the Asian conical hat. Yet the details around her chest and decorative details around her hip are designed to highlight a version of "exotic" sensuality intended for Western consumption. It becomes an amalgamation, reflecting the West's image back at itself. Editor: So, cultural mirror rather than accurate reflection? It makes me wonder, what did people back then really see? Fear, desire, curiosity all mashed together I suppose, like any good intoxicating daydream. Curator: Precisely. These images weren't really about "Annam," the woman, or Annam as a region, but a constructed idea of them both. The prints acted almost as collectible commodities, these brief moments of engagement allowing people to possess a piece of this world as they imagined it. Editor: Makes you wonder what our "dancing girls of the world" look like now, and how those images might warp for future eyes. Anyway, it’s quite beautiful, despite all its problematic layers. I would absolutely stick this image on my mood board, even though it comes with lots of baggage. Curator: And understanding that baggage, unpacking the layers of symbolism and intent, is precisely the point. By recognizing how images like “Annam” once functioned, perhaps we can gain a better understanding of how we continue to construct, and consume, identity today.