Pont-Y-Pair 1859

Curator: This stereo print, titled "Pont-Y-Pair", was created in 1859 by Roger Fenton. It's rendered in gelatin silver, showcasing Fenton's mastery of early photographic techniques. Editor: My first impression is the stark contrast between the dark, jagged rocks and what appears to be the softer foliage. It evokes a sense of drama and a raw, untamed landscape, but the fact it is a stereo image means there are two near-identical images presented here. The bookbinding also flattens the image considerably and I feel, somewhat compromises the effect Fenton was aiming for. Curator: The location, Pont-Y-Pair, is in Wales. Considering Fenton's background as a Crimean War photographer, how might this landscape, devoid of human conflict, speak to broader narratives about Victorian notions of national identity and the picturesque? Editor: Fenton's involvement in documenting the Crimean War shaped his artistic approach significantly. I think we can view this as a reaction against that stark reportage. Perhaps he's embracing Romanticism here, idealizing the Welsh landscape as a refuge. There's a clear attempt to align the natural world with notions of purity and escape, a visual counterpoint to the industrialized world and traumatic war events. It is a curated wilderness for consumption by a burgeoning tourist market. Curator: And how do you read that market through a contemporary lens? I mean, were such scenes entirely apolitical? Or were they subtly implicated in colonialist ideologies by celebrating an unspoiled "otherness" within the British Isles? Editor: It's a crucial point. Presenting Wales as purely scenic allows for the marginalization of its cultural and linguistic distinctiveness, as well as the social inequalities of its populations, doesn’t it? Fenton's lens might be seen as reinforcing dominant narratives. The Welsh landscape, becomes, in essence, a product, marketed and consumed, divorced from its more complex history. Curator: A striking point! Understanding Fenton's artistic journey through lenses like romanticism alongside colonialism brings into clearer focus its significance within the historical and political landscape of the Victorian Era. Editor: Indeed, a seemingly straightforward landscape print like “Pont-Y-Pair” carries substantial layers of social commentary if only one chooses to look. It is the romantic image, viewed through a sharp sociopolitical context.