Untitled (man and woman playing with paddle ball) c. 1950

Curator: There's something ghostly and dreamlike about this silver gelatin print, "Untitled (man and woman playing with paddle ball)" by Jack Gould, found in the Harvard Art Museums. What springs to mind for you? Editor: The high contrast really gives it a surreal feeling. Like a memory fading in reverse, all crisp edges and ambiguous smiles. There's a palpable sense of unease, perhaps. Curator: Absolutely, the reversal of light contributes to that unease, doesn't it? Playing paddle ball in a suit? The context feels forced, almost staged. Editor: Yes, it hints at a certain social performance, the expectations around leisure and gender roles perhaps. Who are we performing for, even in these supposedly private moments? Curator: Gould's work often touches on those anxieties, the pressures of social conformity. A fascinating, if unnerving, glimpse into mid-century American life. Editor: I agree. It's an image that lingers, a reminder that even play can be a kind of work.