Twee aanzichten van de onderkaak van een hert, binnenkant en buitenkant before 1869

This print offers two views of the jawbone of a deer, its interior and exterior. The stark monochrome emphasizes the material qualities of the bone. It's interesting to consider how these once living structures become objects of study. This image was made through the process of photo-lithography, which is significant. Photography, and especially its printing applications, was a technology of mass production. This process democratized images in a way previously unimaginable. While bone is hardly a conventional art material, consider that it is usually found, rather than made, as a medium. Here, photo-lithography has been mobilized to document an artifact that’s itself a vestige of an animal’s life. Focusing on the materiality and process of production asks us to consider the cultural value we ascribe to art, and the boundary between fine art and scientific documentation.