Untitled (children sitting in circle listening to headphones) 1949

This is a gelatin silver print of children wearing headphones, made by Robert Burian. The first thing to notice is the transformation achieved through photography. It's made through a combination of precise optics and chemical processes. Consider the labor embedded in each print, from the mining of silver to the patient work in the darkroom. It is far removed from the hand of a painter or sculptor. But look closer, and you see that Burian’s work has a powerful social context. It invites us to reflect on how children learn, and how collective experience is mediated. The analog tools shown here, headphones and the chairs themselves, have been entirely displaced by digital technologies. Photography, and all forms of making, reflect particular moments in the history of labor, politics, and consumption. By understanding these histories, we can challenge traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.