Untitled (boys and baby on couch playing with mirror) c. 1950

Curator: This photogram, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums, is credited to Lucian and Mary Brown. It depicts "boys and baby on couch playing with mirror" and invites us to reflect on themes of childhood and perception. Editor: It hits me as a kind of ghostly game, doesn’t it? A reflection, a playful interaction, all captured with this intriguing, otherworldly feel. Like a memory half-recalled. Curator: Mirrors in art often symbolize self-awareness, vanity, or even the soul. Here, the children seem less concerned with themselves and more fascinated by the reflective surface itself. Editor: Exactly! It's like they're discovering a portal, an alternate reality. And the negative image reinforces that sense of otherness, of something just out of reach. It’s a bit disorienting, but I love it! Curator: It’s a window into childhood's uninhibited curiosity. A shared exploration of identity and reality, playfully distorted. Editor: It leaves you pondering the layers of perception. Simple, yet profound.