Untitled (many students taking standardized exam inside large gymnasium) c. 1950

Curator: This photograph by Jack Gould, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums, presents a large gymnasium filled with students taking an exam. There is no date provided for the work. Editor: It's stark, almost oppressive. The sheer number of students, the rigid rows, and the cavernous space...it feels like a machine processing intellect. Curator: It certainly speaks to the industrialization of education. The physical setting—the gymnasium—becomes a factory floor for standardized testing. Look at the repetitive arrangement of desks, the uniformity of the materials. Editor: And the almost ritualistic aspect! Tests like these have become key social rituals, gatekeepers to opportunity, and this image captures that institutional power dynamic. The architecture of the space reinforces it. Curator: Exactly. The means of production, in this case, the test itself, and the setting become tools that shape and constrain labor, or rather, intellectual output. Even the photographic process itself, black and white, adds to the starkness. Editor: It really underscores how our educational structures and socio-political forces shape not just learning but also the reception and public perception of intelligence. Curator: Seeing the artwork through this lens reminds us of how materials and environments influence behavior, and the social context in which that process is embedded. Editor: And considering the history, these images help us reflect on how power, institutions, and social pressures play out. A very thought-provoking piece.