Untitled (mother and father kneeling with little girl seated at miniature piano) c. 1955

This untitled photograph, a small 4x5 inch print, shows a family grouped around a miniature piano. Paul Gittings, the photographer, seems less interested in capturing a perfect moment and more in the feel of the scene. It reminds me of certain folk art, where the proportions are a bit off, but the feeling is so direct. The image is a negative, so the dark and light areas are reversed. The graininess adds to the dreamlike quality, like a memory half-forgotten. Look at the mother; the photographer lets her be caught mid-movement. There’s an awkwardness that almost feels performative, as if the family is playing a role. It suggests the staged nature of family portraits and how we try to capture something real in the act of performance. Like the family portraits of Elinor Carucci, Gittings' photographs reveal a tension between intimacy and artifice, inviting us to question the narratives we construct around family and identity. Ultimately, it’s not about getting it right, but about the trying.