Illustration VIII c. 16th century

Editor: This is Illustration VIII, by an anonymous artist. It's a black and white print depicting a walled city with ships on a river, and its starkness makes me think of power and control. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see the layered ways power is visualized. The walls and towers, obviously, but also the river as a trade route, controlled and accessed by those ships. Who benefits from this control, and who is excluded? The lack of individual figures suggests a focus on collective identity and perhaps enforced conformity within the city walls. Editor: That's a great point, I didn't consider the river as a means of control as well. Curator: Consider too how the artist chooses to depict this. The stylized representation, almost like a map, reinforces a sense of order and dominion. We must ask, whose order and whose dominion are being celebrated? Editor: This gives me a lot to think about regarding how we visualize power and privilege. Thank you. Curator: Indeed, art provides insight into the stories a society wishes to tell about itself.