Untitled (two girls in swimsuits and masks) c. 1950

Curator: Here we have Jack Gould's Untitled photograph, depicting two girls in swimsuits and masks. The image, a modest 5.7 x 5.7 cm, is held in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s eerie. Those masks create such a stark, almost alien effect. I'm immediately struck by the inversion of light, creating a ghostly atmosphere. Curator: The anonymity the masks provide alters our perception of childhood innocence. It certainly makes you consider the cultural context of disguise. Editor: The bubbles of the masks over their faces immediately bring to mind ideas of enclosure and distortion, how we choose to see and be seen. The image seems to hint at something hidden, something slightly unsettling beneath the surface. Curator: Photography often presents a curated reality. Gould’s choice to invert the image challenges our expectation, and that shifts the picture from the personal to something more broadly suggestive of societal control. Editor: Yes, it’s a compelling reminder of how visual symbols can carry layered meanings. Curator: Absolutely, it asks us to consider what exactly Gould wanted this image to represent to a future audience.