Untitled (girl on rocking chair holding doll) c. 1950

Editor: This is an untitled photograph by Lucian and Mary Brown, of a girl in a rocking chair, holding a doll. The negative image creates such a surreal feeling. What strikes you about the composition? Curator: The inversion foregrounds the play of light and shadow. The texture of the wallpaper, the weave of the rug, even the grain of the wood, are thrown into sharp relief. Note how the diagonal of the rocking chair is echoed in the window frame. Editor: It is a very interesting use of form. Curator: Indeed. The photograph manipulates our perception through contrasting tones and textures, which prompts us to examine the interplay between subject and setting. What do you make of the child's gaze? Editor: It seems direct, almost confrontational. I hadn't considered that before. Thanks for your insight! Curator: It is in the rigorous examination of form that we find meaning.