Untitled (little girl seated on armchair) 1949

Curator: The Harvard Art Museums present a photographic print by John Deusing, simply titled "Untitled (little girl seated on armchair)." Editor: The inversion of tones gives the image an eerie, almost dreamlike quality. The child seems to be glowing. Curator: Indeed. The composition is quite deliberate, the child centered, drawing immediate attention to her posture. The chair acts almost as a throne. Editor: Perhaps suggesting a sense of vulnerability and entitlement, often associated with childhood, underscored by the high contrast between the foreground and blurred background. Curator: Or maybe, considering the artist's formal decisions, it is a study in light and shadow, playing with positive and negative space. Editor: I see the symbols of innocence disrupted by the unsettling reversal. Childhood is not always a realm of pure light. Curator: A valid perspective, and a reminder how technique and symbolism interplay to create multiple interpretations. Editor: A fascinating interplay.