Untitled (architects working in office) c. 1950

Editor: This photograph, "Untitled (architects working in office)" by Lucian and Mary Brown, shows a room full of people working at large tables. It looks like it’s a reversed negative. What strikes you about this image? Curator: I am immediately drawn to the material realities of architectural labor in this photograph. The large tables, the specialized tools, and even the attire of the figures speak to a specific mode of production. How does the photograph itself—the darkroom process, the photographic paper—contribute to our understanding of that labor? Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn't considered the photo itself as part of the "material." So, it's not just what's being depicted, but how it's depicted, that tells the story? Curator: Precisely! This reversed negative forces us to consider the labor involved in image-making alongside the labor of architecture. Editor: I see now. Thanks for pointing out the connection between the materials and the message.