Untitled (mother chimp with baby chimp) c. 1950

Curator: Jack Gould’s small gelatin silver print, "Untitled (mother chimp with baby chimp)," is a poignant study in maternal intimacy. What’s your initial reaction? Editor: The inverted tones create an eerie yet comforting glow around the pair. The rough texture of the photographic paper really emphasizes the physical connection. Curator: Absolutely. The piece invites contemplation on captivity, maternal bonds, and the ethics surrounding primates in research. It makes you wonder about power structures at play. Editor: I'm drawn to the film markings along the edge; they're a reminder of the labor involved in the darkroom and the material reality of the image itself. Curator: Indeed, those markings contextualize Gould's process, making it a layered narrative about our relationship to the natural world. Editor: Exactly, and I think this piece highlights the power of photography to document and commodify even the most intimate moments. Thanks for illuminating this with me. Curator: My pleasure. It seems Gould challenges us to look at how societal structures shape our understanding of animals, agency, and motherhood.