Distant View of the Domes c. 1866

Editor: Here we have Carleton Watkins’s "Distant View of the Domes," an albumen print from around 1866. I’m immediately struck by the stillness. It's so serene. The water reflecting the sky, the imposing mountains… What do you see in this piece? Art Historian: What I see, beyond the serene landscape, is a complicated narrative deeply embedded in American history and the romanticization of the West. Watkins's photographs were instrumental in shaping perceptions of Yosemite. Do you see how they convey a sense of untouched wilderness, a "promised land"? Editor: I do, the landscape feels pristine. Art Historian: Exactly. But we must question for whom was this land pristine? Watkins was documenting this landscape during a period of intense colonial expansion, right after the Civil War, fueled by Manifest Destiny. The monumental scale and dramatic light are very intentional. They encourage viewers to overlook the violent displacement of indigenous peoples. How does knowing this change your perception of the photograph's "serenity?" Editor: It certainly complicates it. It's like the photograph is both beautiful and… a form of propaganda, in a way? Celebrating this idea of untouched land conveniently erases the people who were already living there. I hadn’t thought about it like that. Art Historian: Precisely! Photography, like all art, doesn’t exist in a vacuum. We must consider whose story is being told, and perhaps more importantly, whose story is being silenced. Thinking about it through an intersectional lens makes us recognize these complexities. Editor: I guess it's a reminder that beauty can mask some uncomfortable truths. Thanks, I’ll definitely remember this context moving forward!