Untitled (woman seated casually on cloth) c. 1945

Curator: This photograph by John Deusing, of a woman seated, presents an interesting inversion of light and shadow. Editor: It's ghostly, almost spectral. Her relaxed pose contrasts strikingly with the high-key lighting, making her seem both present and absent. Curator: The negative format creates a unique symbolic weight. It flips our expectations, rendering what would be dark as light and vice versa, perhaps mirroring the subversion of traditional portraiture through her casual demeanor. Editor: It's an interesting choice of presentation. The original photograph must have been quite striking, and flipping it to the inverse creates a powerful visual metaphor for the ways in which women's images are often manipulated or distorted in popular culture. What do you think? Curator: It certainly invites a deeper consideration of representation. Editor: Precisely. The visual manipulation really speaks to the way women are perceived, past and present.