Reclamebord in een veld tijdens de wereldtentoonstelling in St. Louis (Louisiana Purchase Exposition), 1904 1904 - 1905

Curator: This melancholic platinum print is entitled "Reclamebord in een veld tijdens de wereldtentoonstelling in St. Louis (Louisiana Purchase Exposition), 1904" and was captured between 1904 and 1905. Editor: There's a striking contrast in tones, with that aged border and desaturated image itself giving a misty, almost dreamlike quality to an otherwise straightforward subject: a sign in a field. The very aged aesthetic provides an almost surreal sense. Curator: Absolutely. The board presents itself with such optimism for the fair, however the faded tone adds to the understanding of cultural ephemera. Editor: What grabs me is the seemingly simple industrial act of staking that sign in a field, probably using timber from nearby sources, promising modernity while firmly rooted in agricultural practice. Curator: That contrast between industry and agriculture resonates, and it appears more broadly too. Think about world fairs as a moment of both unprecedented global interconnectedness, while also reflecting very particular local contexts and values. Editor: It definitely reminds us that even displays of progress, these "worlds of tomorrow", are deeply intertwined with the materials, labor, and even the landscape that enable them. The very specific location of it having to be posted in that empty looking field is something of a paradox, promising to connect the globe. Curator: Considering our own contemporary cultural memory, it’s almost ironic – that advertisement existing now, more as a symbol of its own historical context. Time really does shift our perception of images, and thus changes their cultural meanings. Editor: The photo reminds us to look deeper at not only how something is represented, but how it's made, who made it, and what social forces brought it into being. These processes affect all artwork. Curator: It highlights that photography does so much more than merely record; it transforms our cultural understanding of space and time through the weight it applies to our memories. Editor: Seeing the commercial application mixed into photography and how its medium changes really offers a window into values we ascribe to the image over time.