Untitled (bedroom, fireplace to left) c. 1920

Curator: This silver gelatin print, held at the Harvard Art Museums, is titled "Untitled (bedroom, fireplace to left)" by Martin Schweig. It's a quiet, unassuming scene. Editor: There's an unsettling feeling. Despite the domesticity, the empty chairs suggest absence, a pause in a narrative. Curator: Precisely. Consider the context of its creation—the early 20th century and the rise of documentary photography. Spaces, particularly domestic ones, became reflections of societal shifts, anxieties about privacy, and the role of women. Editor: The hearth is stacked with figurines and knick-knacks. Each object serving as a symbol of family and memory, almost acting as a bulwark against societal change. Curator: I agree. The image prompts us to consider how personal spaces become sites of resistance and negotiation against larger sociopolitical forces. Perhaps it's a study of the psychological weight of ‘home’ during a period of great upheaval. Editor: Yes. It's a visual poem about what we choose to keep, and what those objects ultimately say about us.