Untitled (lion standing on hind legs wearing corwn; trainer with whip) c. 1950

Curator: This is an untitled photograph by Jack Gould, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums, depicting a lion standing on its hind legs, wearing a crown, with a trainer holding a whip. Editor: My first impression is one of stark contrast; the image feels theatrical and melancholy all at once. The lion's posture, combined with the crown, evokes a strange sense of forced majesty. Curator: Absolutely. The visible film edges remind us of the photographic process, underscoring the documentation of labor and control. The trainer's whip, the lion's pose - it's all meticulously staged for an audience, a spectacle constructed through power dynamics. Editor: The crown on the lion, though, feels symbolic. It's a visual shorthand for power, but here, it's undermined by the animal's captive state and the trainer's looming presence. The lion becomes a symbol of subjugated authority. Curator: Indeed. The materials themselves - the photographic film, the trainer's costume - speak to a whole industry built on the commodification of exotic animals. Editor: It's a powerful, layered image. Seeing these familiar symbols recontextualized provokes a deeper reflection on power and performance. Curator: Precisely. Gould's photograph exposes the structures that underpin these spectacles.