Untitled (zookeeper feeding giraffe) c. 1950

Curator: This silver gelatin print, by Jack Gould, is titled "Untitled (zookeeper feeding giraffe)." Editor: It's remarkably stark. The composition, all brick and bars, feels very industrial and quite oppressive. Curator: Consider how zoos, as institutions, reflect our relationship with the natural world, and how photographs like this contribute to that narrative. The means of capturing this moment, the labor involved in the zoo's operation—it all points to a very manufactured experience. Editor: Yes, the photograph itself becomes part of the zoo, another layer of enclosure. What does it mean to frame this interaction as an aesthetic object? Curator: Precisely. And think about the materiality of the photographic print, its potential as a commodity, shaping public perception. Editor: It's interesting to consider how Gould's work fits into the broader history of zoos and the politics of animal representation. Curator: Definitely, I'm struck by how the photographic process itself highlights those tensions. Editor: It makes one think about the power dynamics at play in creating and viewing such imagery.