Untitled (storefronts) c. 1940

Editor: Here we have John Deusing’s "Untitled (storefronts)" from the Harvard Art Museums. The negative effect gives the image a haunting quality, almost like a ghost town. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: The starkness, I suppose. It feels like a memory fading, or perhaps a premonition. The inverted tones suggest a world turned inside out, inviting us to question the familiar. Notice how the light and shadow dance, creating new shapes and relationships. It is like he's showing us the soul of the place, not just the surface. What do you make of that? Editor: Interesting. It certainly gives a different perspective on the mundane. I never thought of a storefront having a soul before. Curator: Maybe that’s the point. Deusing asks us to see beyond the everyday, to find the extraordinary within the ordinary. It's a reminder that beauty and meaning can be found in the most unexpected places, even in an inverted storefront.