Copy Print: Still Life of Masks on the Bauhaus Stage c. 1928 - 1949

Curator: This is T. Lux Feininger's "Copy Print: Still Life of Masks on the Bauhaus Stage," a photograph capturing objects on what appears to be a stage floor. Stark, isn't it? Editor: It is—the high contrast and dramatic shadows give it a theatrical air, even beyond the title's suggestion of masks. I get a sense of looming uncertainty. Curator: Feininger, deeply rooted in the Bauhaus, here presents a scene concerned with the raw materials of performance: masks, rods, geometric forms, all tools of artistic production. Editor: Yes, but stripped of color, and recontextualized, it almost feels as though these props are waiting, holding their breath for a story that hasn't yet arrived. Curator: The image speaks to the Bauhaus ethos of collapsing hierarchies between art forms, and also challenges traditional still life expectations by incorporating the element of theatrical artifice. Editor: It also presents a stark simplicity that almost feels post-apocalyptic, yet hints at the potential for creativity to emerge from the ruins. Curator: It really makes you reconsider the essence of theater and the stories we weave with such fundamental items. Editor: Leaving us, ultimately, with a lingering question of what lies beyond the stage.