Untitled (three photographs: overhead view of wedding reception table with bride and groom in center; bride throwing bouquet to women at wedding reception; overhead view of wedding reception tables and serving line) after 1961

Editor: This is an untitled work by Martin Schweig, a sheet of three photographs capturing different scenes at a wedding reception. I notice the strong contrast in black and white. What stands out to you about it? Curator: The interesting part is the photographic process itself. It's not just the wedding, but the means of capturing it. The physical strip, the darkroom work, the chemicals used... it’s about labor. Consider what these images, these commodities, meant to those who made and consumed them. Editor: So, you're saying it's about the making, and the value we place on these photographic representations of an event? Curator: Exactly! We consider the material and social context to uncover deeper meanings. What labour went into that wedding, too? What were the economic conditions? Editor: That shifts my perspective entirely. I was focused on the surface, but now I see the deeper, layered context.