Untitled (portrait of young woman with gloves and pocketbook) 1955

Editor: This is an untitled photograph, a portrait of a young woman with gloves and a pocketbook by John Deusing, and it's currently at the Harvard Art Museums. There's something about the textures that I find really striking. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I'm particularly interested in the material conditions that allowed for the creation and consumption of such portraits. Consider the rise of affordable photographic processes that democratized portraiture. How did this availability impact social dynamics and self-representation? Editor: So, you are more interested in the context that allows the image to exist than the image itself? Curator: Exactly. Thinking about the labor involved – from the photographer to the manufacturer of the film – reveals the complex network of production and consumption that shaped this image. It moves us beyond simply appreciating it aesthetically. Editor: That's a completely new way to consider photography. Thanks!