Visualizing the mountain: the photographer as ethnographer in the marble quarries of Carrara

Abstract This paper explores the meaning of work in the marble quarries of Carrara through a comparison of different kinds of visual knowledge. Contrasting quarry workers' perceptions of the material environment with the landscape images produced by photographers, the paper develops an analysis of photography as an evocative practice that potentially connects us to the experience and history of quarry work. The paper thus suggests new cross-disciplinary openings for understanding the interpretive practices of visual artists as ethnographers.