Untitled (chimps playing baseball on a stage) c. 1950

Editor: This is Jack Gould's "Untitled (chimps playing baseball on a stage)," and the date is unknown. It looks like a gelatin silver print. The darks and lights create a surreal, almost dreamlike, quality. How do you interpret this work? Curator: What strikes me is the layering - the stage backdrop showing chimps in human-like poses, echoed by the figures on the stage itself. It's like a hall of mirrors, playfully questioning our own roles and behaviors. I wonder, are we watching them, or are they watching us? Perhaps it is both. Editor: That’s a great point! It does feel like a reflection. Curator: Indeed! It seems to say something profound about our shared instincts for play and performance. I almost feel as if Gould is suggesting we, too, are merely acting on a stage.