Sutro Tunnel's Road to Virginia City 1875

Editor: Here we have Carleton Watkins' "Sutro Tunnel's Road to Virginia City" from 1875, a gelatin-silver print currently housed at the Met. The vast landscape, captured in such detail, gives it an almost overwhelming feeling of scale. What draws your eye when you look at this photograph? Curator: It's compelling to consider Watkins’ work within the context of manifest destiny and westward expansion. This isn't just a landscape; it's a document of industrial incursion on indigenous lands. What do you notice about the positioning of the road in relation to the land? Editor: Well, the road seems to cut right through the heart of the landscape. Is it intended as a symbol of progress or something else? Curator: Exactly. Think about whose progress this road facilitates and at what cost. The Sutro Tunnel itself was designed to drain silver mines, accelerating resource extraction. This image romanticizes a process that irrevocably altered the environment and the lives of the Native peoples. How does Watkins aestheticize this moment? Editor: The light, perhaps? It feels very deliberate. Curator: Yes, the use of light and shadow creates a sense of grandeur and timelessness. But what about those whose stories are missing from this picturesque view? Where are the Paiute and Washoe tribes who called this land home? Editor: I see your point. The photograph, while beautiful, silences other voices and perspectives. It's not a neutral image. Curator: Precisely. Analyzing it through a critical lens reveals how art can be both a product of and a participant in complex power dynamics. Editor: This has definitely shifted how I perceive the photograph, especially thinking about the hidden stories embedded within seemingly neutral landscapes. Curator: I hope it's also an invitation to seek out those untold stories, always mindful of whose perspectives are centered, and whose are marginalized, within historical narratives.