Untitled (man and woman at ball) 1962

Robert Burian made this photograph, titled "Untitled (man and woman at ball)", in 1962, with the aid of a camera and darkroom. While photography has a close relationship with the fine arts, it also has roots in commerce, advertising, and photojournalism. This image of a man and woman at a ball, printed in black and white on paper, is a kind of social document. The paper support is essential to this reading; mass production has imbued it with quotidian qualities. It’s a record, certainly, but also an artifact, a moment captured by the camera, developed, printed, and frozen in time. Consider the social implications inherent in the production of photography, the labor involved, and the cultural values they reflect. As this image suggests, photography, like all forms of making, can reveal as much as it conceals.