Untitled (parents and children standing in building doorway) c. 1950

Curator: This untitled photograph by Jack Gould shows a family standing in a doorway. The strong contrast gives it such presence. Editor: It feels like a moment caught between worlds, doesn't it? The doorway as a liminal space, a threshold into discussions of race, class, and the American family. Curator: The children are so small! I wonder what they were thinking, where they were going? The everyday, the monumental, all in a tiny 5.7 cm square. Editor: I wonder, too, about the story behind this moment and the family's experience in the context of mid-century America. Curator: Photography has that power, doesn't it? To freeze time, to make us wonder, to open up worlds. Editor: Absolutely. It's a glimpse into history, yes, but also a mirror reflecting our own assumptions and biases back at us.