Untitled (man taking woman's pulse inside medical trailer) 1961

Editor: This is an intriguing, undated black and white photograph by Martin Schweig, housed at the Harvard Art Museums. It depicts a man, presumably a doctor, taking a woman's pulse inside what looks like a medical trailer. It's quite stark. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: I'm drawn to the photographic process itself. The grain, the high contrast. Consider the social context, the mobility suggested by the trailer setting, perhaps a response to a need for accessible healthcare. How does the materiality of the photograph—the paper, the chemicals—impact its meaning for you? Editor: It makes it feel almost documentary, immediate. I hadn't thought about the trailer's implications that way. Curator: Precisely. And the staging, the lighting, the choice of subjects, all speak to a certain construction of healthcare, and the labor involved. What do you make of the curtains in the background? Editor: The curtains feel domestic, almost at odds with the medical setting. Curator: Interesting observation. It speaks to the attempt to humanize or soften the clinical environment, and the labor involved in maintaining that illusion. Perhaps that tells us more about the values of the society that produced it. Editor: That’s a really insightful perspective, thanks! Curator: Indeed, looking at art through the lens of its creation and context always yields new understandings.