Untitled (many pedestraians on busy city street) c. 1950

Editor: This gelatin silver print by Jack Gould captures a busy city street scene. The negative effect gives it an almost ghostly feel. What symbols or ideas do you see in this piece? Curator: The crowd seems to be moving towards a distant light, doesn't it? It evokes the archetypal journey, a search for enlightenment or perhaps simply a better life. Look at how Gould frames the streetlights like beacons. Editor: That's interesting. I hadn't thought of it as a journey. Curator: Consider how this image reflects our collective experience of urban life—a constant flow of people, each with their own destination, united by a shared space. What remains constant versus what changes? Editor: I see what you mean; it's a snapshot of humanity, even with the altered perspective. Curator: Exactly! And, how the symbols can be a collective experience, and also an individual one.