Untitled (three Rainbow Girls) c. 1950

Editor: This is "Untitled (three Rainbow Girls)" by Harry Annas. The photographic print is fascinating, almost ghostly in its presentation. What strikes you about this image? Curator: The inverted tones immediately bring to mind the photographic negatives used to capture this image. More than that, though, it forces us to consider the construction of identity. In what ways does the processing used here force us to question what we see in a photograph? Editor: That's interesting. The reversal makes the familiar strange, so maybe we question the representation itself? Curator: Exactly. Consider the historical context: what expectations were placed on young women at the time this was taken, and how does the subversion of photographic norms speak to a potential disruption of those norms? Editor: I see your point! It's more than just a picture; it's a statement. Curator: Precisely. Art is a mirror reflecting our own social constructions and assumptions. I will definitely think about this the next time that I look at a photograph.