Untitled [Asters with Fence] 19th-20th century

Editor: This photogravure by William B. Post, "Untitled [Asters with Fence]," dated sometime in the 19th or 20th century, is lovely in its soft focus and understated elegance. The texture is gorgeous, but I'm unsure how to approach interpreting it. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Considering the timeframe and the medium, I'm struck by its quiet defiance of pictorial norms. Think about the art photography movement. It argued photography could be artistic, challenging the dominance of painting. Post embraces the everyday scene, a simple garden, elevated through photographic printing techniques like photogravure which was favored for its tonal range, giving it an aesthetic respectability akin to an etching or engraving. Editor: So it's trying to legitimize photography? How does it do that, exactly? Curator: In a sense, yes. By employing a process like photogravure and choosing subjects that mimic painting-- landscapes or still lifes-- photographers aimed to be viewed as more than just technicians. The placement of his work in exhibitions would have shaped audience expectations of what photography should be and do, as it moved from documentary tool to artistic expression. The aesthetic values prized in art heavily shaped photography, it had to earn the status of art. Do you think the composition furthers that aspiration? Editor: The delicate focus and subdued palette almost create a dreamlike quality, like a memory... I can see how that could elevate it beyond just a snapshot. Curator: Exactly. Also consider where it was exhibited, alongside whom, and what critical responses it received. These factors determined its place in the visual culture of the period and beyond. Now that you know this, do you look at the image differently? Editor: Absolutely. It is so much more complex and thoughtful than what appears at first glance. Thinking about its history and cultural role provides a depth that enhances the image, providing purpose and an understanding of what Post was trying to achieve! Curator: Precisely. That's how the history enriches our experience of it.