Untitled (hand and mirror) 1934

Editor: This is Dora Maar’s "Untitled (hand and mirror)," created in 1934 using photography. I'm struck by its ghostly quality and the stark contrast between the ornate mirror and the rather clinical-looking hand holding it. What is your interpretation of this image? Curator: The clinical feel you identify is interesting, considering the sociopolitical landscape of the 1930s. The rise of scientific positivism, coupled with growing anxieties about identity and representation due to war and displacement, significantly shaped artistic production. Photography, being seen as objective, gained prominence, yet artists like Maar manipulated it to expose subjective realities. Doesn't the hand appear almost like a mannequin's, raising questions about artifice versus reality? Editor: It does! So the photo being "Untitled" is deliberate, playing with ideas of identity? Curator: Precisely. The mirror, often associated with vanity or self-reflection, is rendered somewhat useless here because of the camera angle and photographic style, creating a void rather than a reflection. And consider how Surrealist artists in particular used these visual strategies, combining familiar objects in unsettling ways, challenging viewers to confront hidden anxieties and societal hypocrisies. Does the overall composition seem confrontational to you? Editor: Now that you point it out, the blank mirror does create a sense of unease and is unsettling. The way the hand displays the mirror almost feels like an accusation. Curator: Yes, Maar often worked with politically charged imagery. By undermining the traditional function of both the hand – typically an instrument of action or creation – and the mirror – a symbol of the self – she potentially critiqued the roles assigned to women within the art world and wider society. Seeing the mirror's potential for creating and manipulating the identity also reinforces that politics in photography extend beyond straightforward reportage. Editor: I had not considered those themes. It’s so interesting how placing art in historical context opens up layers of meaning I hadn't even imagined! Curator: Exactly, and recognizing the sociopolitical and cultural forces that shaped art enables us to view it through many crucial lenses.