Untitled (children eating at long tables at cowboy-themed party) c. 1950

Editor: Here we have an untitled black and white photograph by Lucian and Mary Brown, depicting children eating at long tables at what looks like a cowboy-themed party. The starkness of the black and white really emphasizes the materiality of everything. What stands out to you about the materials and social context of this work? Curator: Well, considering the means of photographic production, we must look at who had access to cameras and film. Who was being photographed, and by whom? This access reveals certain power dynamics and class structures inherent in the act of documentation itself. Editor: So, the labor of creating the photograph, and who gets to participate in that labor, tells us something about society at the time? Curator: Precisely. The photograph becomes a record of consumption, both in the food on the table and in the very act of recording the event. Editor: I hadn't thought about photography as a form of consumption, that's a fascinating perspective!