Untitled (side view of street-sweeper clearing leaves) c. 1950

Curator: This gelatin silver print, credited to Jack Gould, captures a side view of a street-sweeper clearing leaves. The print itself is quite small, just over two inches square. Editor: It feels almost ghostly, doesn’t it? Like a memory surfacing. The negative tones create this otherworldly atmosphere around such a mundane scene. Curator: Exactly! The inversion really highlights the themes of labor and the everyday. Notice how the street-sweeper and workers are framed—almost like dark silhouettes against the brighter foliage. Editor: Right. And the sweeping motion, frozen in time, becomes a symbol, perhaps of cycles, of cleaning up, of the relentless passage of seasons. Curator: I agree. There is a certain ritualistic quality to it, elevating a routine task to something more profound. Editor: It's fascinating how such a simple image can hold so much, speaking to both the personal and the universal in such a muted way.