Untitled (empty kitchen) c. 1950

Curator: Here we have an intriguing photograph, "Untitled (empty kitchen)" by Lucian and Mary Brown. Editor: An empty kitchen! It feels so cold, clinical almost. Like a stage set, waiting for actors to arrive. Curator: Absolutely. Note the repetitive lines of the cabinets, the almost mass-produced feel, and the contrasting view of nature through the windows. It speaks to the post-war ideal of efficient living, but also, perhaps, its alienation. Editor: I see it as a sort of a cage. The dark, looming trees just outside, so close, yet forever separated by the glass. There's a sadness there, isn't there? Curator: Yes, definitely. It's a commentary on the separation between the manufactured domestic sphere and the natural world. A small gelatin silver print holding so much. Editor: It does make you think. A little haunting, and very poetic.