Untitled (small boy and girl seated on small chairs, other children in background) c. 1955

This photograph of children in chairs was created by Paul Gittings. Though we have no date for this piece, the processes used in photography can be examined with regard to their industrial and social contexts. Consider the gelatin silver process, commonly used for black and white prints. Light-sensitive silver halides are suspended in gelatin, coated on a support, exposed to light, and then chemically developed to create the image. In this artwork, the material processes influence its appearance and meaning in several ways. Photography democratized portraiture, making it accessible to a wider population than ever before. The photograph has captured children from different socio-economic backgrounds and allowed them to be viewed collectively. The photograph's dependence on specific materials, like silver, and industrial processes, like mass production of photographic paper, links it to wider systems of labor, politics, and consumption. In this way, the work challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.