Untitled (young man and woman dancing) 1965

Robert Burian’s small silver gelatin print shows a young couple dancing, likely at a prom or formal event. The image’s meaning comes, in part, from our knowledge of social rituals around courtship. The formal dress and the dance itself are visual markers of class aspiration and social bonding. In American culture, the high school prom is an institution, a rite of passage, and a powerful memory-making event. But here the image is a negative, which transforms the scene into something ghostly and strange. Turning the familiar on its head, Burian prompts us to question the values and social expectations embedded in these kinds of gatherings. Is the picture a critique of social norms, or is it a nostalgic representation of youth and love? To answer this question more fully, we might research the history of the prom in American culture, or delve into Burian’s other photographic work. In doing so, we begin to understand the artwork as part of a larger social and institutional context.