Portrait of a Couple 1925

Curator: This is James Van Der Zee’s “Portrait of a Couple,” taken around 1925, a gelatin-silver print. What strikes you first about this image? Editor: The immediate thing I notice is the interplay between intimacy and work. He's holding her, but the bulky, material presence of that typewriter can't be ignored. It brings the question of labor to the forefront. Curator: Exactly. Notice the placement of the typewriter – practically a third person in this intimate moment. As for the figures, their poses resonate. His gaze directed outwards, a confidence bordering on hope, versus her downcast eyes—a complex interiority. Their embrace is a visual statement about their intertwined lives. Editor: Right. It forces me to consider their socioeconomic standing and the function of that machine. Is it a tool of upward mobility? A signifier of the woman’s independent work in the household? These prints wouldn't exist without the industry of photographic supplies. Curator: The gelatin silver print gives the image a unique warmth, an almost sepia-toned nostalgia for an era filled with promise and struggle for Black Americans during the Harlem Renaissance. Van Der Zee masterfully captured both. These symbols speak volumes about status. Editor: You can almost feel the materiality of that paper; think of the darkroom where this would've been made, the chemicals, the skill…it goes beyond mere representation to an object of its own right, something handled, processed, and sold to sustain the photographer and the studio. Curator: A beautiful, poignant object – indeed. It preserves more than just a likeness; it holds a cultural memory. It serves to dignify black lives and love. Editor: It reminds us, ultimately, that even art that seems 'high,' depends on everyday labor and commerce to be possible. The machine next to them reminds of the material foundation of it all. Curator: Precisely. A single frame, endlessly resonant. Editor: I see a poignant reminder of what labor produces, but who truly owns that production and output.