Jones Beach 1979

Curator: Eric Baden's black and white photograph, "Jones Beach," captures a crowded day at the shore. It's part of the Harvard Art Museums' collection. Editor: It's the density that strikes me first. The image is filled, almost overflowing, with people and things--blankets, chairs, bodies... Curator: The photograph offers an interesting perspective on leisure and public space, doesn't it? Jones Beach, historically, was designed as an accessible recreational area for all social classes. Editor: True, but who has access to the material comforts required for a "day at the beach?" Look closely; there's a division of labor evident, visible in items like the well-worn folding chairs and beach blankets. Curator: That tension between the ideal of democratic leisure and the realities of economic disparity is quite palpable here. It asks us to consider who truly benefits from such spaces. Editor: Absolutely, and the photograph's stark monochrome palette emphasizes these nuances of materiality. It adds layers to the understanding of the beach as a site of both pleasure and inequality. Curator: It gives a lot to contemplate, how a seemingly simple day at the beach reveals deeper societal structures at play. Editor: I agree, it makes you wonder whose labor helped create the leisure those beach-goers are enjoying.