Untitled (top secret war book with military telephone) c. 1950

Editor: This is an untitled photograph by Jack Gould depicting a "Top Secret War Alert Actions Book" and a military telephone. It's a rather muted composition. What catches your eye in this work? Curator: The image foregrounds the tools of war: the switchboard, the phone, the instruction manual. Consider the labor implied. Who made this equipment? Who maintains it? Who is trained to use it? The "top secret" designation conceals this process. Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. The photo makes the "process" and the "making of art" more tangible. Curator: Exactly. We see not just the image, but the whole military-industrial complex, and the hands that built it. What do you think about that? Editor: Food for thought! Thanks for opening my eyes to new ways of interpretation. Curator: My pleasure. Always look beyond the surface.