Bingham Canon, Telegraph Mine, near Salt Lake Utah n.d.

Curator: This is a fascinating, albeit stark, photograph titled "Bingham Canon, Telegraph Mine, near Salt Lake Utah." It is credited to C. W. Carter. Given the silver print and the landscape, my mind wanders back to early photographic techniques of image-making. Editor: There is something eerie about it, a silence amplified by the high-contrast black and white. You see a scattering of desolate little buildings and, further up the slope, something resembling mountains in the distance, but it all looks muted. It really makes me feel like I'm intruding on a forgotten time. Curator: The symmetry within the frame almost mimics the effect of looking at the world through two eyes. Notice how Carter has arranged the composition – those ramshackle buildings huddle in the foreground, anchored by the promise or peril of natural resources; perhaps a reflection on the impact of resource extraction and industrial labor of the era. Editor: Yes, those dark little structures feel as though they’re holding onto the land for dear life! Like an occupation is in place to grab some metal, a mineral, whatever is hidden inside the depths of those hills! You know, in the way, the whole thing calls back to earlier colonialist exploitation and landscape control. What really fascinates me is how it makes me consider humanity's footprint upon this world! It is very somber if you ponder the idea for a few moments. Curator: The tonal gradations are incredibly evocative, transitioning from darker shadowed areas that reveal details, almost a world reduced to various shades of possibility. Given photography's chemical beginnings, you also have to marvel at the alchemy between light, silver, and the artist's intent! It's less about recording, it becomes more of interpreting the location. Editor: You can really feel the stillness of the moment! A time capsule with its haunting imagery reflecting the cultural anxiety associated with a past time of territorial desires that leaves one reflective regarding what might be lurking underneath everything which we have now! Thank you! Curator: Thank you as well.