Untitled (large family portrait in living room) 1964

Editor: This is an untitled photograph by Lucian and Mary Brown, depicting a large family portrait in a living room. It's a black and white negative, which gives it an eerie quality. What symbols or meanings do you see embedded in this image? Curator: The family portrait, an enduring cultural symbol, speaks to lineage and societal expectations. The negative image inverts our understanding; the white figures might represent the family's perceived purity or perhaps a hidden truth. Editor: Hidden truth? Curator: Yes, consider the lamp—a conventional symbol of illumination, but here, it casts darkness. Do you think the inversion enhances or detracts from the traditional family symbolism? Editor: It definitely adds a layer of complexity and subversion. Curator: Exactly. It makes us question the very values that these symbols are supposed to represent. A clever manipulation by the artists. Editor: I hadn't considered the lamp. It really transforms how I see the image.