Untitled (portrait of children inside house) c. 1950

Editor: This photograph by Lucian and Mary Brown, titled "Untitled (portrait of children inside house)," presents a group of children indoors. It has a casual feel, almost like a snapshot. What strikes you about this work? Curator: I'm drawn to the photographic process itself. Consider the labor involved in creating this image – the selection and preparation of materials, the staging, the darkroom work. It reflects a specific social context, doesn’t it? Editor: How so? Curator: Well, photography at the time wasn't as instantly accessible as it is today. The image becomes a document of both the children and the means of its production. What do you make of the setting, the house itself? Editor: It's interesting to think about the value placed on these materials and processes, and how that affects our reading of the image today. Curator: Precisely. It urges us to look beyond the subject matter to the labor and the conditions of its making.