Untitled (couple in costume, Halloween party) 1944

Curator: This gelatin silver print, currently held in the Harvard Art Museums, captures a couple in costume at a Halloween party. It's an untitled work by John Deusing. My first thought? Eerie, yet sweet. Editor: Eerie is right. The stark contrast gives it this almost ghostly quality. It speaks volumes about the performative aspects of social gatherings. Curator: Exactly. The costumes, the pose—it’s all a carefully constructed image. I wonder what stories these costumes hold, and how they played into the social dynamics of that party? Editor: Halloween has always been a space for transgression. Costumes offered the wearer the option to play with social roles and perhaps challenge the status quo of identity, or embrace it further. Curator: True. And this image, frozen in time, invites us to ponder the boundaries between reality and performance, self and persona. Editor: This photograph reminds us how potent the act of documentation can be. It captures not just a moment, but also a complex interplay of social and personal narratives. Curator: It's like a captured echo of laughter and hidden identities.