Javaanse mensen bij een festival in Jogjakarta 1902

This is a black and white stereograph depicting Javanese people at a festival in Jogjakarta by Carleton Harlow Graves. It is interesting to consider the process and intention behind the creation of a stereograph and how this relates to seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world. The sepia tones give a melancholic feel, like looking at an old photograph album and reflecting on the past. What I am struck by most in this image is the seated group of people in the foreground. They are presented as a homogenous group, though each person has their own life and story. Photography often claims to show us what is real, but the choices of the photographer determine the point of view and perspective. In a similar way, artists like Gerhard Richter, use photography as the source material for painting, embracing the ambiguity and celebrating the potential for multiple interpretations of a subject.