Untitled (portrait of little girl on stool) c. 1950

Editor: This is C. Bennette Moore's "Untitled (portrait of little girl on stool)." It's a small, silver gelatin print. It's an inverted image, which gives a really ghostly feel. What can you tell me about it? Curator: The negative presentation is intriguing. It removes the familiar and forces us to see the child differently. Photography in the early 20th century was becoming more accessible, shifting portraiture from elite painting to a more democratic medium. How does the stool elevate the child, both literally and figuratively? Editor: I guess the stool makes her seem more important, like a little queen. Curator: Precisely. Photography, even in these intimate portraits, participates in constructing social narratives. It gives visibility, but also defines how we see and remember. Editor: I hadn't thought about the power dynamic in something so seemingly simple. Curator: Right. It’s a reminder that even personal images are embedded in the larger social and political landscape of visual representation.