Untitled (man and chimp on fake tug boat) c. 1950

Curator: This is an untitled photograph by Jack Gould, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. It features a man and chimpanzee posing on what appears to be a prop tugboat. Editor: It feels like a strange dream. The textures—the fake boat, the man's uniform, the chimp's fur—everything seems constructed and staged, yet deeply human. Curator: Absolutely. The material reality of the scene clashes wonderfully with the aspirational image they're trying to create. The backdrop hints at a "Show Boat" with the Mississippi, invoking romantic fantasies of river travel. Editor: It's unsettling how the artifice of the setting and the chimp’s staged pose point to the constructed nature of spectacle. I find myself thinking about the labor involved in creating and maintaining these illusions. Curator: It's a striking image that encapsulates our complex relationship with artifice and authenticity, don't you think? Editor: I agree. I’m left wondering about the stories behind the photograph—who these figures were and what narratives they were trying to perform.