Gezicht op Hoei met het fort before 1890

This image of Huy with the fort, was made by Victor Gaillard, most likely in the late 19th or early 20th century. It comes from a book, made of paper and ink, using industrial printing processes. The image shows a picturesque view of the city and its fortifications, but it’s the making of the book itself that commands our attention. Consider the labor involved in producing this printed image: from the harvesting of wood pulp for the paper, to the skilled technicians who ran the printing presses, to the binders who assembled the final product. The mass production of images like this democratized art, making it accessible to a wider audience than ever before. Yet, this accessibility came at a cost, as the labor involved was often repetitive and alienating. Looking at this book, we can appreciate not only the image it contains, but also the complex social and economic forces that made its creation possible. It challenges us to consider the relationship between art, labor, and consumption, and the ways in which these factors shape our understanding of the world.