Indian Miners at Potosí

Theodor de Bry, Flemish, 1528–1598

Indian Miners at Potosí, 1590

This engraving illustrates the shocking conditions at the Cerro Rico mine in Potosí that Jesuit missionary José de Acosta witnessed. In this work, we can see the perilous conditions faced by indigenous workers along with the violence mining wreaked on the natural landscape. The workers’ contorted bodies are illuminated by candlelight, demonstrating how dark it was this deep in the veins. The precarious ladder leading out of the mountain furthers this depth, showing both the violation of the mountain, which is practically a husk, and the workers’ descent into a living hell, resulting in Cerro Rico’s nickname: “the mountain that eats men.” In the background, the landscape of Potosí has been indelibly altered by the mining, particularly through contamination of waterways. The poison in the air and the mercury in the water perpetuated violence on the laborers and the landscape (both invaluable), all for shiny pieces of metal. Label by Tori Erisman

Miners

Jackson Pollock, American, 1912-1956

Miners, 1934-1938

Miners depicts faceless individuals congregated tightly together inside a mine, with half of the individuals hunched over and gathering materials. Each individual remains anonymous, highlighting that these workers could be any human, yet the rough black and white streaks emphasize the harsh, dangerous conditions these individuals must work through. There are no signs of light or other workers or managers, solely these select few that are isolated from everything else, unethically enduring all potential risks with mining, including exposure to toxic metals and inhaling toxic fumes or other particulates. Label by Sebastian Rios-Melean

Felling Mahogany in Honduras

J. McGahey, British

Felling Mahogany in Honduras, 1850

Not much is known about artist J. McGahey, other than he was a British printmaker who typically engraved topographical plates of London. This print depicts the direct process of sourcing the mahogany used in colonial furniture making, particularly the human lives that were actually implicated in its collection. While much of the harvesting and trade of mahogany disappeared in the narrative of the works of art it created, this image shows the material from the source, and acknowledges its direct connection to slavery. However, despite that fact that it does not overtly attempt to erase the presence of enslavement in the Caribbean mahogany trade, this print still depicts a very curated image of what is possibly a plantation; the men in the photo seem determined while one of them relaxes on the ground next to the fallen tree, which seems to have had no impact on the surrounding environment, and bear no trace of critique to the labor taking place. Label by Molly McCarthy Flood

The Cultivation of Tobacco in Colonial America

American School (artist unknown), American

The Cultivation of Tobacco in Colonial America, 19th century

This piece depicts slave labor in the tobacco industry of colonial America and serves as a starting point for discussing the socioeconomic impact of said industry. John Rolfe is credited with bringing tobacco to the colonies via Virginia in 1612. While tobacco cultivation in the Chesapeake area was originally characterized by white planters working alongside enslaved black people, the wildly increasing demand for tobacco in the 18th century led to an enormous slave boom that deepened racial divide. The industry became extremely competitive and working conditions for enslaved people worsened. Racially motivated laws emerged that would eventually become Jim Crow laws. While white workers are depicted in the foreground, this engraving shows an undeniable division between them and the black enslaved people. Label by Laura Reitze