This essay is about the work of the documentary protagonist in constituting the image. It is about the work of the protagonist in landscape – or rather land -- documentary, contributing to the image, be that affectively or materially as part of the aesthetics of the image. It regards the protagonist as the material of the documentary image. The essay suggests that in contrast to landscape painting, in documentary, the protagonists’ manual labor not only shapes the land, but also the image. The work of the manual laborers on the land has a causal connection to the documentary image even with respect to landscape – the “scaped” or shaped view of the land. In contrast to the landscape painting that is associated with the contemplation of the artist in the absence of the worker in the image, it is argued here that the aesthetics of the documentary image are directly dependent on the material labor of the documentary protagonist in the image. The labor of the protagonist contributes to the aesthetics of the documentary image.

The essay reads that image as a space that has already been inscribed and generated by multiple human and non-human directors and protagonists, well before the last artist claims ownership. It explores the material labor of the protagonist as part of the aesthetics of the image especially through the example of central perspective, which is conventionally regarded as being constructed only within the image, by the artist for the viewer. This essay regards the vanishing point in the documentary image as having a material connection with the world it depicts. It also questions the benefits of making the worker visible through the realist documentary image and suggests that allowing the worker to be invisible while still showing their working movements precludes additional immaterial labor of the protagonist for the documentary. Finally, it looks at documentaries that explore work by means of aesthetics beyond realism including “happy” images of material labor.