Untitled (nine children posed sitting in front of fireplace decorated with stockings) 1968

Curator: This is an untitled photograph by Martin Schweig, housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Note the stockings hung with care above the fireplace... Editor: It feels spectral, this negative image. The figures almost glow, arranged like a row of votive candles before the domestic altar of the hearth. Curator: The arrangement of the children and the stockings evoke traditions. The fireplace here is laden with meaning, suggesting warmth and togetherness, but in negative. Editor: Yes, a strange inversion. What might be the psychology of the symbols here, or perhaps a questioning of family unity? The stockings especially can be emblems of hope, promise. Curator: Perhaps a social commentary? Photography itself, when it came into public awareness, raised questions about representation and memory. Editor: Looking at how this photo asks questions about representation and memory, I think it also asks questions about the traditional family portrait. Curator: Very true. These inverted images certainly do give the viewer some food for thought.