Kolowrat-Ring No. 8, Wohnhaus des Herrn Alfred Skene c. 1860s

Curator: Standing before us is an albumen silver print dating back to the 1860s, currently housed here at the Art Institute of Chicago. The photograph depicts “Kolowrat-Ring No. 8, Wohnhaus des Herrn Alfred Skene”. Editor: It has this ghostly, architectural grandeur—almost like a stage set waiting for the players. A bit unsettling but definitely compelling in its scale and detail. Curator: Indeed. What you're sensing ties into the era's ambition. We see photography embracing architecture. In this piece, the relationship between burgeoning photographic techniques and the rapidly changing urban environment in mid-19th century becomes clear. Note the almost documentary-style approach combined with artistry. Editor: And look, the skeletal structures in the foreground almost become part of the art itself. Construction – and in turn creation– on full display. Did the photographic processes influence the speed of architectural reproduction or vice versa, I wonder? Like cogs moving in the same direction. Curator: A wonderful thought, and undoubtedly connected! With prints like this, mass production and replication entered into the art equation, influencing taste and even design. These prints often catered to burgeoning middle-class aspirations, literally providing a 'blueprint' for societal advancement. Editor: Yes, that makes so much sense when you consider the silver. There is a preciousness that hints to wealth. Like, look at my wonderful townhouse! So, it’s not just about replicating form but solidifying material value, too? Curator: Absolutely, the act of commissioning and circulating images like these highlights a developing system of both social and economic exchange centered around material objects, accessible because of evolving, material, photographical processes. Editor: In a strange way, viewing this photograph makes you consider the present state of architecture. I’ll remember this as a blueprint of a feeling. Curator: Exactly. Photography not merely as reproduction, but deeply embedded in the processes of social making.