Untitled (portrait of family in trees) c. 1950

Curator: This rather haunting silver gelatin print, simply titled "Untitled (portrait of family in trees)" is attributed to Lucian and Mary Brown. There is a starkness to this image. Editor: It's like a memory fading—the figures nearly consumed by the woods, the reversed tones adding a surreal quality. The composition feels both deliberate and strangely unsettling. Curator: The darkroom process itself must have been incredibly tactile; the act of reversal transforms a familiar setting into something ethereal. Editor: Absolutely! This is all about the materiality of the photographic process itself—the emulsion, the development, the deliberate manipulation. Were they emphasizing the artificiality of the family portrait? Curator: Perhaps it's a comment on the artifice inherent in posing, the fleeting nature of family, or maybe just a playful exploration of light and shadow. Either way, its captivating. Editor: The image really makes you think about how much labor goes into not only the picture, but also the production of Kodak film itself. Curator: Indeed, it’s a ghostly reminder of the alchemy that happens between subject, artist, and the very stuff of photography. Editor: This photograph’s manipulation of process helps me see the unseen labor in the history of image-making.