Untitled (mother chimp with baby chimp) c. 1950

Curator: Jack Gould's small, untitled photograph at the Harvard Art Museums depicts a mother chimpanzee cradling her baby. It is a gelatine silver print. Editor: It strikes me as an image of such tenderness, even in its stark, high-contrast state. It feels like witnessing a private moment of primate motherhood. Curator: It's interesting you say that. Considering that the production of gelatin silver prints became standardized through industrial processes, it raises questions about the contextualization of intimacy. Editor: Perhaps, but the chimp’s pose, the gentle curve of her body around her baby—it transcends the clinical process. It reminds us of our own maternal bonds. Curator: I suppose that regardless of the medium’s industrialization, the subject matter reintroduces a layer of complex biological and social meaning. Editor: Absolutely. It's that interplay between form and feeling, even in a small package, that keeps me captivated.