Untitled (two portraits of two children) 1950

Editor: So, this is an undated photograph, "Untitled (two portraits of two children)," by John Deusing, part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. The negative image gives it a ghostly, almost surreal quality. What strikes you about it? Curator: The reversal definitely throws you off balance, doesn't it? It feels like peering into a forgotten dream, a fragile memory. I keep wondering about the story *behind* the children's eyes. What were their lives like? What was Deusing trying to capture beyond just their likenesses? Editor: Do you think the double image has some significance? Curator: Perhaps it's about the fleeting nature of childhood, how it's always slipping through our fingers, leaving only echoes. Maybe Deusing was playing with ideas of duality, innocence, and experience reflected in those young faces. It's a beautiful puzzle, isn't it? Editor: It is. I'll definitely see the photograph differently now. Curator: Me too. That’s the joy of art, isn’t it? It changes us as much as we try to understand it.