Untitled (monkey jumping from door inside house) c. 1950

Editor: This quirky, small-scale gelatin silver print by Jack Gould pictures a man leaping out of a doorway. The negative image gives it an eerie, almost supernatural feel. What's your take on it? Curator: The interesting thing here is the process itself. The negative image is key. Consider how that choice impacts our perception of the figure: are we looking at something present, or something past? How does the photographic process itself materialize absence and memory? Editor: That’s a great point. I hadn't considered the implications of it being a negative. Curator: Exactly. It encourages us to think about the labor, the materiality, and the cultural context of photography in representing identity. Editor: That definitely gives me a new appreciation for Gould's choice of materials and process.