Untitled (portrait of woman and children on couch) 1964

Editor: Here we have an untitled photograph by Lucian and Mary Brown, showing a woman and children posed on a couch. It’s a small gelatin silver print, but the negative effect makes me wonder about the process. What can you tell me about its creation? Curator: The reversal of tones immediately draws attention to the material of the photographic negative itself. How does this subversion of photographic representation force us to consider the labor of image making and its relationship to portraiture and domesticity? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn't thought about the labor involved. Curator: Think about the act of posing, printing, and the social context of family portraits. Whose labor is visible, and whose is obscured? It is a complex interplay of materials and representation, isn't it? Editor: I agree. I didn't think about it that way! I'll definitely keep that in mind when looking at photography from now on.