Untitled (double studio portrait of older woman wearing corsage and top with light front) 1941

Editor: This is an untitled double portrait by Martin Schweig. The photographic negative shows a woman with a corsage, duplicated side-by-side. I'm struck by the almost clinical presentation. What can you tell me about the materials and process? Curator: Notice how the very act of creating this double portrait – likely for efficiency in production within a commercial studio – reveals the photographic process itself. The negative shows the means of its making. Consider the labor involved in portraiture at this time. Editor: So, it's less about the woman and more about the photographic industry? Curator: Precisely! It urges us to consider the conditions of photographic production and consumption, and the social function of these studios. We gain insight into the era's photographic practices. What do you make of that? Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way, viewing it as a commodity changes everything. Curator: Indeed! It forces us to question what we value in a portrait.