Mt. Hayden, or the Great Teton c. 1870

Curator: This striking image, "Mt. Hayden, or the Great Teton," is a photograph by William Henry Jackson. It's a powerful landscape, the mountain dominating the frame. Editor: It feels incredibly imposing, almost forbidding. The monochrome palette adds to the starkness. I'm curious about the context of its creation. Curator: Jackson was part of the U.S. Geological Survey expeditions. His photographs were instrumental in shaping perceptions—and, of course, policy—regarding the American West. Editor: Right, so not just documentation but also a tool of colonial expansion. How do you read the almost romantic aesthetic alongside that history? Was it consciously manipulated for a specific purpose? Curator: Consider the labor: the materials, the darkroom tents, the sheer effort of transporting this technology. The final print becomes an object deeply embedded in its own production and the expansion of American power. Editor: Exactly. Thinking about access, too, and who got to experience these landscapes, either through Jackson's lens or in person. It's a very exclusionary narrative being built. Curator: I agree, there is a complexity to the consumption of this image. These mountains held sacred and cultural significance to indigenous populations long before Jackson arrived. Editor: The photograph becomes a way of possessing and framing that which was already possessed. Curator: The image really shows how the West was not just "discovered," but also constructed through visual representation. Editor: Absolutely. It is a potent reminder that even the most seemingly objective images are steeped in history, power, and perspective.