Ansel Adams at Union Carbide

In 1941, Ansel Adams photographed the Union Carbide chemicals company factory for Fortune magazine, presenting the petrochemical plant as a futuristic “Wellsian World,” reminiscent of a futuristic, high-tech world lifted from science fiction. However, a materials-driven analysis reveals hidden labor histories that are obscured by this portrayal: there were both representational and material connections between the photographs and the chemicals industry. Adams's work illuminates the deep connections between photography and capitalism by revealing the complex network linking metal and hydrocarbon extraction, their refinement into alloys and chemicals, the rise of the synthetics industry, and photography's dependence on the chemicals sector.