Untitled (small airplane on Robertson, MO airstrip) 1940

Editor: This photograph by Martin Schweig captures an airplane on a Missouri airstrip. The negative image lends it a ghostly, almost surreal quality. What strikes you most when you look at it? Curator: The inverted image and the airplane, a symbol of progress and freedom, bring to mind Icarus. Do you see how the dark sky presses down, suggesting a fall rather than flight? Editor: I hadn't thought of that! It's almost a premonition rather than just a picture of an airplane. Curator: Precisely. The photographic negative hints at a latent anxiety about technological advancement, echoing our historical fear of overreach. Editor: So, it's not just about an airplane, but about the hopes and fears we project onto it. That’s fascinating.