Untitled (mules on farmland) c. 1950

Editor: This is an intriguing black and white photograph, Untitled (mules on farmland), by Jack Gould. It's a small print, but it depicts a large number of mules in what looks like pens. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The photographic process itself becomes crucial here. This being a negative, it raises questions about labor and its representation. How does this inverted view alter our perception of agricultural work and animal power? Editor: That's interesting. It really does change the feel of the image. Curator: Exactly! And considering the possible social context of farming, we might ask what this negative says about our consumption of images and the agricultural processes they represent. Editor: I never considered the photograph's process that way.