Untitled (woman with shopping cart talking to butcher behind meat counter) 1945

Editor: This is an untitled photograph by Jack Gould, depicting a woman with a shopping cart at a butcher counter. The image is a black and white negative, and it has this surreal quality. What strikes you about it? Curator: I see a commentary on the processes of consumption and labor. The starkness of the negative emphasizes the constructed nature of the shopping experience and the often unseen labor behind the meat counter. How does Gould's choice of medium, the photographic negative, impact your understanding? Editor: It definitely makes me think more about the behind-the-scenes, and the economic transaction taking place. Thanks! Curator: Indeed. This process unveils our roles in the system. Something to reflect on.