Noordelijk toegangsportaal van de Kathedraal van Straatsburg 1877

Curator: This albumen print from 1877, captured by Sophus Williams, presents the north entrance of Strasbourg Cathedral. I'm struck by how the photographic process captures the ornate Gothic architecture. Editor: Immediately, I’m drawn to the almost ghostly presence of the architecture; the light plays in such a way to obscure any kind of groundedness. The cathedral's stone facade appears almost like a fragile paper construction, all planes and relief, but no actual volume. Curator: Right. It's a compelling example of how photography, even in its early stages, could transform our perception of established symbols. The cathedral, of course, was a symbol of faith, power, and civic pride, and Williams is documenting that for the people. Editor: And documenting using fairly new industrial processes! Think of the labor involved – quarrying, transporting, carving all of that stone, versus the emerging photographic reproduction allowing it to circulate… which suddenly makes something that was quite material quite reproducible and consumable. Curator: Precisely. The portals are framed by such intricate carvings – figures frozen in time, geometric patterns reaching towards the heavens. What narratives, what lessons were etched into the stone for the faithful to absorb? Each gargoyle, each arch, tells a story that has a life far beyond it's materials! Editor: And each craftsman that added to the buildings – what was their personal narrative, versus the kind of universal ones we see projected through the images, figures, and design itself? I guess the act of documenting – and preserving something – it both takes us away and preserves a time, place, feeling, even… Curator: Agreed. It gives one pause, reflecting on how the camera transforms the tangible into something ephemeral yet enduring, and how that shifts the role of symbols. Editor: Yes – it makes one think about how labor and effort in building cathedrals, then photographic practice intersect and evolve the means of visual experience itself. Thanks.