Untitled (Masked man sitting in car) 12 - 1942

Curator: This is a gelatin-silver print, an anonymous work from December 1942, titled "Untitled (Masked man sitting in car)". The mood is certainly unsettling. Editor: It is. The figure's masked face is jarring. What can you tell me about this work? Curator: Consider the material conditions first. Gelatin-silver printing was a widely accessible process at this time. This suggests both the relative ease of production, making it distinct from elite art forms, and also invites us to consider the socio-economic context within which such materials and production processes operated. How do you interpret the mask? Is it a singular gesture of artistic intent, or does it reference the materials readily available in wartime—gas masks, for example—re-contextualized into something more absurd? Editor: I see what you mean. It makes me think about wartime anxieties and maybe the need for protection in a world suddenly filled with new threats, now aestheticized here, even turned somewhat comical? It also now occurs to me how the readily available materials shaped this particular mode of artistic expression and comment. Curator: Exactly. The labour involved in photography is typically hidden, the artist or subject always being the focal point, rather than the mechanics of image production. What does it mean when a mask and car and backdrop that could stand for nearly anywhere challenge any notions of identity? The value now rests, potentially, in production of an image speaking to an unstated context we might guess at or assign ourselves? Editor: So it moves the emphasis from the artist's genius or singular intention toward how social context, access to materials, and modes of production shape art and our understanding of it. Curator: Precisely. Instead of simply seeking the artist's intention, we are prompted to examine the conditions that made the artwork possible and how those conditions continue to impact our interpretation. Editor: Fascinating. I will certainly view artworks from a fresh, informed perspective now!