Untitled (men with grocery store display) c. 1950

Curator: This curious image, “Untitled (men with grocery store display),” is by Lucian and Mary Brown. It shows two men standing near a rather elaborate display of canned goods. Editor: Oh, it’s got that haunting, ghostly vibe—all in negative—like a memory half-forgotten. The rows upon rows of cans remind me of a kind of consumerist archive. Curator: The mirrored negative does give it an otherworldly feel. But look closer—it's also capturing something very ordinary, almost ritualistic, about daily life. See how the cans are stacked? It’s like a humble monument. Editor: True, the humble can of soup. Symbol of postwar plenty, perhaps? Though the negative gives it a strange, almost cautionary feel. Are we meant to be celebrating or questioning this abundance? Curator: Maybe both? It's a document of its time, but transformed by the artists' eye. Editor: Well, it’s certainly given me plenty to think about. Perhaps that's the point.