Untitled (two giraffes at zoo, zookeeper) c. 1950

Editor: This is an untitled photograph by Jack Gould, showing two giraffes at a zoo. The black and white film gives it a stark, almost industrial feel. What’s your take on it? Curator: Notice the stark contrast between the organic forms of the giraffes and the man-made structures surrounding them—the tiled wall, the metal bars. This highlights the artificiality of their confinement, pointing to a history of labor and commodification. Editor: That’s interesting. It makes you think about the zoo as a system. Curator: Exactly. The photograph becomes less about the giraffes as individual creatures and more about the zoo as a manufactured environment, a space of leisure built upon the control and consumption of nature. Editor: I never considered the zoo itself as a material aspect of the image. Thanks!