Untitled (large painted mural on wall next to staircase) c. 1950

Editor: Right now, we're looking at an untitled mural by Jack Gould at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a large piece beside a staircase, and it strikes me as a really complex depiction of, well, lots of people. What do you see in this piece, and how do you begin to interpret such a busy composition? Curator: It feels like a tapestry of humanity, doesn’t it? So many faces, frozen in time, yet somehow animated by Gould’s hand. I see a longing for connection, a whisper of untold stories embedded in the paint. What do you think those stories might be? Editor: Maybe stories of the everyday? It looks like people working, observing... Curator: Perhaps Gould wanted us to see ourselves reflected in the crowd, to ponder our place in the grand, ongoing narrative of existence. It’s a bit like looking in a mirror, isn't it? Editor: Definitely gives you something to think about as you climb those stairs!