Untitled (lage construction project; road between tall buildings) c. 1946

Curator: This is an untitled work by Jack Gould depicting a construction site. Note the monumental scale despite the small dimensions of the image. Editor: The reversed tonality gives it a rather dystopian feel, doesn't it? A harsh, almost lunar landscape of labor and materials. Curator: Indeed, the high contrast exaggerates the geometric forms, the grid of the unfinished building stark against the sky. It's a study in form and void. Editor: It also begs the question: who are the workers? What are their conditions? The image foregrounds the materials—steel, concrete—but obscures the labor that shapes them. Curator: A compelling point; it underscores the dialectic between industrial process and human agency. Editor: A fitting image for our times, I think. Curator: A rigorous demonstration of scale and composition from Gould.