Steel Mill Blast Furnace c. 1967

Curator: Standing before us is "Steel Mill Blast Furnace," a print made by Stevan Dohanos around 1967. What grabs you first? Editor: That heavy stillness. Like the world holding its breath before some catastrophic cough. Curator: Dohanos was a master of capturing Americana, often in a very romantic light. This… feels different. It’s grittier, the sharp contrasts almost… hostile. Editor: Exactly. I read this as a powerful commentary on the costs of industrial progress. That smokestack against the roiling sky isn't just pollution, it's a visual metaphor for unchecked power. We see how industry impacts our landscape and it's mirrored back into our society. Curator: But there's a strange beauty in it, too. The reflections on the water, the geometric shapes of the structures. Dohanos manages to find something visually compelling in what could easily be just bleak. Editor: Perhaps he's revealing a more complicated truth, that progress isn't a simple, forward march, but a series of difficult trade-offs? He draws a portrait that questions whose “progress” gets centered and at what environmental or social cost. I wonder if he would like this new wave of environmentalism. Curator: Perhaps it's that duality that gives it such staying power. This is not a polemic or a judgement. He’s showing, not telling. Editor: I see your point. It creates a space for reflection, inviting the viewer to wrestle with these complex themes themselves. The mirrored scene doubles the feeling of dread but allows our perspective of past, present and future to expand. Curator: A landscape born of fire and industry, indeed, still capable of sparking something new in us. Editor: Precisely! Hopefully leading to more sustainable paths.