Late 1800s, Japanese albumen photograph, hand tinted.
Purchased on eBay.
Lantern maker, machine, cyborg, monument, assemblage, industry, craft, and spiral.
This photograph is gorgeous.
The lanterns, the parasol, the whole nautilus swirl of the scene directs all attention towards the interaction between man and lantern, the point where his brush barely touches the lantern, the moment of creation, transmission, action, and all of it going both ways ... the man painting the lantern and the lantern making the man into lantern maker. The tension at the brushpoint is electrifying.
 by Meg Butler
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February 19, 2005
04:35PM
Ralph Maurer said on February 20, 2005 12:50 PM
I see the nautilus, but my eyes are most directed towards the boundary between man/creation and environment. That is, the lanterns and the painter seem to be one object that is wholly distinct from the backdrop. I suppose this fits in with the cyborg comment.