Untitled (Man on street taking pictures of himself in mirror) 1956

Curator: I'm struck by the immediacy and grain of this image. Editor: That's 'Untitled (Man on street taking pictures of himself in mirror)' a photograph created in 1956 by an anonymous artist. The photo, rendered in black and white, features a man seemingly capturing his reflection. What catches your eye first? Curator: The mirroring itself. It's a pre-selfie selfie. But, really, it is a potent visual symbol about how the human is enmeshed with its technological reflection. And yet, with no artifice, only an awkward candid reality, in which a man takes a photograph and another seems oblivious to the process. Editor: Yes, there’s definitely a documentary feel to the photograph. What does that tell us about the photograph? What about its composition do you find interesting? Curator: The positioning. The layering of the signage, the depth created with receding figures along the sidewalk, and those signs like "Hallawe Seeds, Bulbs, Plants." There is something unnerving about how human desire is captured in commercial signage and fleeting self-reflection in this work. Editor: Those signs introduce an intriguing play of language and imagery. Also, consider how the composition isolates each figure despite them occupying the same plane. I mean, there are clear, formal juxtapositions in play—light and shadow, verticality and horizontality. It also seems that by mirroring in reflection, this photo anticipates pop art's serial approach. Curator: Do you think this work represents a particular psychological state about this cultural moment of mid-century America? This man’s desire to take an image is caught, unwittingly, in its moment. In essence, does he exist without a recording? I'm sure many feel this in today’s cultural condition. Editor: Perhaps. Formally, this photo stands as an excellent exercise in street photography. The tonal range and sharpness speak for themselves. Even after all this time, there is a timeless, resonant appeal here. Curator: Agreed. The work invites us to reflect on our evolving relationship with the technology we employ to know ourselves and record memory. Editor: Indeed, a layered experience of image-making and what might be the seed of what was to come.