Untitled (man looking at rhino in zoo) c. 1950

Editor: This is Jack Gould’s small, undated silver gelatin print, “Untitled (man looking at rhino in zoo).” The negative effect gives it such a haunting feel. What do you make of this curious encounter? Curator: Well, it strikes me as a melancholic meditation on captivity, doesn’t it? The rhino, a symbol of wild power, is confined, just like the tree, bare and skeletal behind him. And the man…is he contemplating his own limitations, his own zoo? Perhaps he sees himself reflected in those ancient eyes. What do you think? Editor: That’s a perspective I hadn’t considered. The reflection is literal and metaphorical. Thanks! Curator: Precisely! Art, at its best, holds up a mirror, doesn’t it?