Untitled 1994

Curator: Here we have Annette Lemieux’s “Untitled” piece at the Harvard Art Museums. It’s a striking work, measuring about 57 by 76 centimeters. Editor: It feels like a fragment, a memory partially obscured. The stark black bar dominates the composition. Curator: Indeed. Lemieux’s juxtaposition of the photographic image with this solid black plane is central to the piece. How does this interplay of visibility and concealment relate to larger social narratives? Editor: Perhaps it speaks to selective memory, to what societies choose to remember or suppress about the past. The monochrome image feels antiquated. Curator: It evokes early photography, focusing on the process of image-making itself. Consider how the artist challenges our perception, pushing us to confront the nature of representation. Editor: It reminds us that history is never fully accessible, always mediated by power and perspective. Curator: It is clear that the means of image-making and the message within are equally important here. Editor: It is, yes. Seeing the work this way really amplifies its sociopolitical punch.