Untitled (young woman in off-shoulder dress standing outdoors by rock wall) after 1940

This silver gelatin print, of a young woman in an off-shoulder dress by Paul Gittings, uses a chemical process to capture a moment in time. The gelatin emulsion binds light-sensitive silver halide crystals to a base material, to record the gradations of light and shadow with great tonal depth. This is a process that has been in use since the late 19th century, yet its impact remains profound. Photography democratized portraiture. Where painted likenesses had been the province of the wealthy, suddenly, ordinary people could be captured in their Sunday best, as this woman may be. Think about the labor involved, both in the making of the image and in the making of the dress. Photography requires its own kind of technical expertise, an expertise that can be gained through practice, yet it also captures the dressmaker's labor too, immortalizing the garment's craftsmanship, the labor and materials involved in its design, construction, and consumption. By focusing on the materiality and the means of production, we recognize the expanded social and cultural significance embedded in this portrait.