Untitled (cigarettes) 1956

Curator: This is an untitled photograph, “Cigarettes,” by Peter James Studio, part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. It presents an array of cigarette packs on a wooden surface. Editor: What a fascinating still life. It feels almost like a melancholic portrait of habit. The negative exposure emphasizes the brands, as if they are monuments. Curator: Indeed. Consider how these brands, once symbols of glamour and rebellion, are now largely stigmatized. This image captures a shift in social attitudes. Editor: There’s a strange beauty in the starkness, though. Like a memento mori, reminding us of fleeting pleasures and their consequences. Makes you think, doesn't it? Curator: Absolutely. It's a reminder that even the most mundane objects carry social and historical weight. Editor: Well, I see it as a defiant little dance with mortality. Gives you something to chew on.