Untitled (man at podium giving speech) c. 1950

Curator: This small, square photograph, “Untitled (man at podium giving speech)” by Jack Gould, draws you right in, doesn’t it? Editor: It does. It’s got this very immediate, almost raw quality. The high contrast just amplifies the tension of the moment. Curator: Absolutely, and consider what’s in the frame: A man, presumably giving a speech, a banner, a menu listing food prices, and a sign reading “We don’t want to be evicted.” Gould seems to be pointing towards a specific moment of political unrest. Editor: And the way it’s reproduced; this isn’t a pristine print, is it? It is, after all, a photographic negative. The materiality speaks volumes about the urgency and the means by which this image might have been disseminated. Curator: Right. The picture feels so embedded within a particular time and place. The St. Louis banner reminds us that photographs are historical evidence of community action. Editor: Indeed. It prompts us to think about art as a form of labor, activism, and collective memory—a material record of resistance. I'll remember it.