Untitled (two children eating watermelon) c. 1970

Curator: This is an untitled photograph by C. Bennette Moore depicting two children eating watermelon. It's a modest-sized gelatin silver print, roughly 4 by 5 inches, part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. Editor: My first thought is how this image captures a simple joy. But I’m also struck by the inversion of tones, the light and dark reversed. It feels…ghostly. Curator: The reversal certainly complicates any straightforward reading. Consider the era and the fraught history of watermelon imagery. Were these images ever shown publicly? How were they received? The absence of a date on the image makes it difficult to contextualize it fully. Editor: Right. The photograph, in its current state, could perpetuate racist stereotypes about Black people and watermelons. But, perhaps, the ghostly, ethereal treatment allows us to re-examine the legacy. The image can be seen as a challenge to the problematic association and reclaim Black joy by subverting these expectations. Curator: Perhaps. What I see here is not necessarily subversion, but definitely a more nuanced interpretation. Without a title, its message remains elusive, open for interpretation, and reflective of the complex history of photography itself. Editor: Exactly. It reminds us of the power images hold, and the urgent need to discuss their history with criticality.