Untitled (kitchen interior) c. 1949

Curator: This is an Untitled photograph of a kitchen interior by John Deusing. Editor: It’s all gleaming surfaces! The checkerboard floor and those rounded counters speak to a sort of optimistic futurism. Curator: Note how the kitchen, a space traditionally associated with domestic labor, is presented almost like a laboratory, cool and streamlined. This speaks to the cultural memory of progress. Editor: Yes, and look at the material choices: enameled metal, linoleum. These were about accessibility. Mass production made modern design available to a wider audience, transforming domestic spaces and the labor within them. Curator: But even within this image of supposed progress, there are signs of comfort: the patterned curtains, a small vase on the table. Editor: It seems that even with all these materials changes and aspirations for a better future, there’s still the need for familiar and comforting items in the house.