Untitled (man with trophy standing next to old car) c. 1950

Curator: This is an intriguing photograph, "Untitled (man with trophy standing next to old car)" by Jack Gould, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. It measures a modest 6 by 6 centimeters. What's your initial take? Editor: Eerie! Like a dream bleached of its color. It's all reversed, like looking at a film negative. Makes you wonder what the story is, doesn't it? Curator: Absolutely. Without a date, we can only speculate on the context. The man, his attire, the car—it all suggests a certain aspiration, a performance of success perhaps tied to early automotive culture. Editor: Maybe. Or maybe it’s about the quiet absurdity of it all. He looks so serious holding that trophy, but what did he win? And does it even matter, really? The inverted world hints at fleeting glory. Curator: That sense of fleeting glory is what stays with me, too. Editor: Yeah, it is like the image itself knows it's destined to fade, which makes you want to hold onto the image, to the man and his trophy.