Farmingdale, L.I. 1979

Curator: Eric Baden's black and white photograph, simply titled "Farmingdale, L.I.", captures a moment that feels both intimate and candid. Editor: I'm immediately struck by the texture and grain of the photograph, and the composition. The faces are so close together and seem really natural. Curator: The photograph’s strength lies in its seeming artlessness, but consider the photographer's work to give the sense of the everyday. What's being recorded, and for whom? Editor: I see this image as a product of a very specific time; maybe the materials, the specific paper used and the printing process, play into the work’s accessibility, making art feel present and accessible to the public. Curator: True, and it is through these kinds of images that the act of photography is legitimized as an art form, displayed and recontextualized within institutions like the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Ultimately, this picture invites us to think about the relationship between art, life, and the spaces where culture is made.