Untitled (Berkeley) 1983

Editor: This is an untitled photograph by Bill Dane, taken in Berkeley, and housed at the Harvard Art Museums. It has a nostalgic, snapshot feel. What do you see in this image? Curator: I see echoes of childhood games—a visual representation of imagination taking flight. The capes evoke superhero narratives, but the setting, an indoor space, hints at a more personal, contained world. What narratives do these figures conjure for you? Editor: They make me think about make-believe, playing dress up, and the blurring of fantasy and reality. Curator: Exactly. Dane captures the transitional space where children construct their identities through symbolic play. This recalls how deeply ingrained these visual codes are in our collective memory. Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn't considered the broader implications of such simple imagery. Curator: Understanding these visual shorthands unlocks so much in the piece, doesn't it?