Bizon before 1650

Editor: So, this is Antonio Tempesta’s "Bizon," made before 1650. It's an engraving, so it is very linear and graphic. There’s a large bison in the foreground and what seems like a hunting scene in the background. What do you see in this print? Curator: I see a complex interplay of power dynamics and material processes. Consider the engraving itself. Each line, etched with acid onto a copper plate, represents a conscious act of labor, transforming base materials into a representational image. Look closely, and you will observe the engraver's choices and their relationship to society and nature, like, for example, the contrast between the textured fur of the dominant bison and the smooth background landscape. Editor: I see that, and it seems as if this piece is documenting nature somehow, depicting an almost 'exotic' animal to its European audience... How do we think about the act of documenting something back then? Curator: Precisely! This "documentation" needs unpacking, thinking about it instead as commodification and consumption. The artist, working within a specific socio-economic context, created an image that circulated as a commodity. Consider the paper itself – where did it come from? Who made it? The act of consuming this image implicates the viewer in these larger networks of production. The means and control of depiction back then becomes just as significant as today. Editor: So it's not just about the animal itself, but also about who had the power to represent it and how it circulated as an object. Curator: Exactly. And what implications arise when the powerful are able to represent or commodify any material on any scale. Now we might ask ourselves about that context of commodification within our own world today. Editor: Wow, that gives me a whole new perspective on understanding not just what's being depicted, but also the economic and social implications of creating and distributing art! Curator: Precisely. Everything, in a sense, holds material weight.