William Miller and Family, Twentieth-Anniversary Party, Martins Creek, Pennsylvania 1978

Curator: Larry Fink's "William Miller and Family, Twentieth-Anniversary Party, Martins Creek, Pennsylvania," from 1978. It's a black and white photograph capturing a seemingly unguarded moment. Editor: Yes, it feels like a candid shot of this family, maybe outside their house, the mood is very interesting: somehow innocent, raw, and maybe even a little unsettling. The children seem to be playing but there's an anxiety in their expressions or is that just me projecting? How do you interpret this work, what do you notice when you see it? Curator: What I find compelling is Fink's almost anthropological gaze. It’s as though he stumbled upon this scene, didn't pose it or prompt it in any way, capturing the real stuff - like what? Like how childhood intersects with these very formal adult rituals of marriage. What story does it make you want to write about them? The lighting and composition amplify this— the flash is bright, highlighting their faces and emphasizing the everyday. Editor: It really makes you look closely at each individual, doesn’t it? I am so fixated by the face the young girl in the background. Curator: Me too! The photo asks so much and says so little. I keep wondering about the space in between - who are they trying to scare, or welcome, or warn? It seems that Fink encourages you to bring everything to the viewing process to fill in all the mysterious blanks.. Editor: Exactly! It's almost voyeuristic, like we’re peeking into a private world, creating narratives based on a single frozen moment. Curator: I agree. And the raw, unfiltered aesthetic really allows those narratives to blossom in our own imaginations, don’t you think? The fact that it's a photograph reinforces that feeling - but that can also give an uncanny effect...almost like looking at a still from a surreal film! Editor: I see that now – how Fink turned a simple family photograph into such a multilayered glimpse of American life. I am much more familiar with the process of constructed photography. But I'm seeing that just bearing witness to the unfolding in life can be extremely generative... Curator: I like what you said – “glimpse of American life.” Exactly! And in a flash you are ready to imagine them all. Editor: Well, this was a total success: Larry Fink has yet another fan on board!