Untitled (studio portrait of two brides wearing dresses and veils) 1949

Editor: This photograph, by Martin Schweig, is called "Untitled (studio portrait of two brides wearing dresses and veils)". I’m struck by its eerie beauty, almost ghostly in its presentation. What do you make of this, especially given the context of wedding portraiture? Curator: Eerie, yes, but also wonderfully defiant, isn't it? Wedding photos usually aim for picture-perfect happiness. Schweig, though… he captures something far more ambiguous, wouldn't you say? It's as if he's saying, "Marriage? It's beautiful, but it's also complex, maybe even a little unsettling." Think about the period, too. What messages do you think same-sex couples may have been communicating in their wedding photos during that period? Editor: That’s a great question. I hadn’t thought of it that way. I guess I was stuck on the surface. Curator: Exactly! Art whispers, sometimes it shouts, but it always asks us to look deeper.