Untitled (family on sleigh ride) c. 1950

Editor: This is a gelatin silver print by Lucian and Mary Brown, simply called "Untitled (family on sleigh ride)." It looks like a photographic negative, and the family seems so small within the landscape. What catches your eye? Curator: Let's consider the materiality. The gelatin silver print, a mass-produced photographic medium, democratized image-making. Whose labor produced the gelatin? How did the Browns' access to photographic technology shape their ability to document their lives and present this image? Editor: That's a great point! It makes me think about who had the resources to create and preserve these images. Curator: Exactly. And the act of taking a photograph transforms a lived experience into a commodity, a tangible object for consumption and memory. This photograph challenges our understanding of art. Editor: Thanks, this really helps me look at the artwork in a different way.