Georgia O'Keeffe 1924

Editor: Here we have Alfred Stieglitz's "Georgia O'Keeffe," a gelatin silver print from 1924. It's a portrait, but not in the typical formal way. She appears to be sleeping next to a basket of apples. It feels…intimate, almost voyeuristic. What stands out to you in this work? Curator: What strikes me is the labor implied but unseen. The photograph’s very creation hinges on industrial processes – the mining of silver for the gelatin silver print, the manufacture of the camera and lens. And then consider the depicted labor: someone harvested these apples. The seemingly casual composition obscures a web of human and material input. Editor: I see what you mean. It makes you wonder about the circumstances surrounding the photo, not just the personal relationship, but all that other “stuff.” Is he trying to show her relationship to nature? Curator: Or is he using her to examine a relationship with the natural world? Notice how her clothing seems almost rough-hewn compared to the smooth surfaces of the apples. Stieglitz frames O’Keeffe not just as a subject but also through the material reality of her surroundings and, indeed, his own production methods. Consider the labor involved in maintaining an apple orchard at that time! What kind of social strata and hierarchies does that create? Editor: So it’s less about individual genius and more about acknowledging the collaborative and material conditions that make art—and life—possible. Curator: Precisely. It compels us to question whose stories are told and whose labor is erased in the creation of iconic images, as we gaze, mesmerized, on those black-and-white gelatin grains. Editor: I will definitely be paying more attention to the physical elements of photography—and paintings, too!—going forward. It’s easy to overlook the raw materials and industrial connections. Curator: Agreed! Thinking about art through a materialist lens opens up fascinating avenues for reinterpretation.