Untitled (store display, flower shop, mannequins and flowers) c. 1945

Curator: This striking image is an untitled work by Harris & Ewing, described as a store display featuring a flower shop, mannequins, and flowers. It is a gelatin silver print. Editor: What a peculiar mood! The mannequins and inverted tones give it a ghostly feeling, like a memory fading in a dream. Curator: It does seem dreamlike. The flowers themselves are powerful symbols of life, beauty, and transience, heightened here. Do you feel there is commentary on class? Editor: Perhaps. The materials of the mannequins themselves, the fabric of their clothes, and the labor involved in crafting this scene all speak to the economies of display. Curator: I see an exploration of beauty ideals as well. The staged presentation and the artificiality inherent in the mannequins invite us to question societal constructs of beauty. Editor: An interesting point. It underscores how much meaning we project onto materials, transforming the mundane into objects of desire and commerce. Curator: It leaves me contemplating how we imbue objects with symbolic power, especially in the context of consumer culture. Editor: And for me, it highlights the fascinating intersection of art, commerce, and the silent language of materials in shaping our desires.