Untitled (six adult men posed holding young children by outdoor table with birthday cake on top) 1953

Editor: This is an untitled photograph by Martin Schweig from the Harvard Art Museums showing six men holding children around a table with a birthday cake. What strikes me is how the negative's grayscale emphasizes the everyday materials. What can you tell me about this work? Curator: Looking at the photographic process itself, the reversal from positive to negative highlights the material reality of image-making. The harshness reveals the labor involved in capturing this moment. It makes you wonder about the context of this family gathering, and how social rituals relate to material consumption. Editor: It makes you wonder what kind of camera was used. Curator: Precisely, and who developed this picture, what their wages were, and whose labor made this family moment possible.