Untitled #2 (Trees and Farmhouse) 2017

Editor: We’re looking at Dawoud Bey’s "Untitled #2 (Trees and Farmhouse)" from 2017, a black and white photograph. It has this really intense, almost unsettling atmosphere – what do you make of it? Curator: Bey's work often grapples with history, memory, and place, especially as they relate to the African American experience. While seemingly a simple landscape, this image speaks volumes about the historical relationship between land, ownership, and power dynamics in America. Does the starkness of the monochrome and the obscured farmhouse suggest anything to you in this context? Editor: Well, it definitely feels isolating. The darkness sort of hides the farmhouse, like it's not really accessible or welcoming. Curator: Exactly. The murkiness and the obscuring shadows almost seem to deny a clear view of this supposed "domestic ideal". We need to remember photography's complex role: it was used to propagate ideas of idealized American life, but also to document injustices. Bey subtly subverts the picturesque landscape tradition, making us question whose history is typically visible and celebrated. Think about how landscape photography, traditionally, has been linked to notions of ownership and control of territory. Editor: So, by making the scene almost foreboding, he’s making a commentary on that historical power dynamic? Curator: Precisely. He's encouraging us to consider whose stories are embedded in the land and who has historically been excluded from that narrative. What happens when a space designed to convey ‘peace’ or ‘prosperity’ suddenly feels…off? Editor: That makes the photograph feel more charged and complex than I initially thought. It’s a great reminder that even landscapes can carry powerful social and political meanings. Curator: Indeed. Bey urges us to look beyond the surface and question the narratives we’ve inherited. Art challenges assumptions, encouraging deeper analysis of imagery, institutions and cultural messages.