Untitled (Allis Auto Parts - storefront) 1948

Editor: Here we have John Deusing's photograph, *Untitled (Allis Auto Parts - storefront)*. It is a black and white print, showing a neighborhood auto parts store. The lighting is stark, almost industrial. What's your take on this, seen through a materialist lens? Curator: This image presents a rich tableau of material and labor. Consider the glass of the storefront, reflecting the street, creating a kind of barrier, marking the divide between commerce and the everyday. What kind of labor do you think is involved? Editor: Well, there's the obvious retail work inside, and the manual labor of auto repair implied by the signage. Curator: Exactly. And even the photograph itself—the materials of the film, the darkroom, the labor of the photographer—all contribute to the final product. What does it tell us about the community? Editor: That everyday life, even the mundane, is full of layers of materials and labor. Curator: Precisely. It shifts our focus to the tangible and the processes involved in creating our built environment.