Untitled (two men standing by large piles of lumber) c. 1950

Curator: Here we have an untitled photograph by Jack Gould, showing two men standing by large piles of lumber. It's a small gelatin silver print, only about 3 by 4 inches. Editor: It's so stark, almost surreal. The inverted tones give it this eerie quality, like a dreamscape of industry. Curator: The lumber, stacked so high, becomes almost monumental, evoking ideas of labor and the materials that shape our world. Notice the figures, dwarfed by the wood. Editor: They seem like ghosts haunting their own creation, their forms barely distinguishable from the stacks themselves. I wonder what their story is? Curator: Perhaps Gould intended to explore the relationship between man and the built environment, using these figures as symbols of human effort. Editor: Maybe. Or maybe he just liked the way the lumber looked in negative. Sometimes it's just about seeing the poetry in the mundane, right? Curator: An interesting point, regardless, it encourages us to reflect on how we shape and are shaped by our surroundings. Editor: Absolutely, a thought-provoking image, however you stack it.