Untitled (family portrait with many dogs and puppies) 1962

Curator: This small photographic print, currently titled "Untitled (family portrait with many dogs and puppies)," was made by Lucian and Mary Brown. Editor: It's an uncanny image. The negative printing gives it a ghostly quality, making this family tableau both endearing and slightly unsettling. Curator: Yes, the reversal certainly emphasizes the materiality of the photographic process. The textures of the various fabrics, especially the dog's fur, become oddly prominent. It really makes you think about the darkroom. Editor: Dogs, traditionally symbols of loyalty and domesticity, are multiplied and transformed. It's almost a Cerberus guarding the hearth, reflecting perhaps anxieties around family or societal roles. Curator: Interesting. To me it shows how a simple family portrait becomes so much more when you look at the means of production. Editor: Indeed. And those means transform the very symbols we think we know so well.