Untitled (woman trying on fur coat) c. 1950s

Editor: Here we have an untitled photograph by John Deusing, portraying a woman trying on a fur coat. It strikes me as both glamorous and a bit melancholic, perhaps because of the inverted tones. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I love that immediate tension you sensed! It’s like a dream, or a memory fading. The negative image lends such a ghostly, almost surreal quality to the scene. What's she thinking, what's he thinking? What does wearing fur mean in the world? Editor: That's a great point. The image has a kind of emotional complexity. Curator: Exactly! There is a great deal left to the viewer's imagination. A compelling, if accidental, artistic choice. Editor: I hadn't considered the effect of the negative image so deeply. Thank you for sharing your perspective. Curator: My pleasure! It's a photograph that seems to ask more questions than it answers, which is always exciting.