Untitled (Moore family portrait, in costume) c. 1935

Curator: C. Bennette Moore's "Untitled (Moore family portrait, in costume)" presents a fascinating group tableau. The figures are dressed in elaborate costumes, and I'm struck by the image's spectral, almost dreamlike quality. Editor: The photograph's inverted tones give it an unsettling feeling, almost ghostly. The family's costuming choices speak to a performance of identity, playing with different symbolic roles. I wonder what social dynamics are at play here. Curator: The costumes themselves offer rich symbolism: a pirate, a chef, perhaps a mandarin. The attire suggests a fascination with roles of power and status, pointing to possible anxieties or aspirations within the family and their social milieu. Editor: Precisely! What stories are they telling through these chosen roles? What social codes are they referencing or subverting through this collective masquerade? Curator: Perhaps this was a way to temporarily escape or challenge the rigid social norms of their time, and what we see is, in fact, a carefully crafted performance of power dynamics. Editor: Ultimately, this photograph is a thought-provoking record that exposes both the family's cultural aspirations and the complex performances they enact through identity and adornment.