Untitled (man sitting at desk) 1957

Editor: This photograph by Peter James Studio is called "Untitled (man sitting at desk)." It's a silver gelatin print, and it feels so...staged. What do you think is going on in this image? Curator: Staged is a great word. To me, it reads like an inverted meditation on power. The man is dressed formally, in a jacket and bow tie, but the inverted tones make him almost ghostly. What kind of power do you think the artist had in mind? Editor: Maybe it's about the power of knowledge, with the books and the desk? Curator: Perhaps. Or maybe it's a more unsettling commentary on the illusion of control, given the unsettling inversion. I wonder if the artist felt similarly? Editor: That's a really interesting point. I hadn't considered the perspective of the artist. Curator: Exactly! Sometimes, it’s in what the image obscures that we find the most profound stories.