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

Curator: This is an intriguing, small-format photograph, less than six centimeters square, by Jack Gould. It is titled "Untitled (chimps playing baseball on a stage)" and resides in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: My first thought is of the uncanny. Chimpanzees dressed as humans acting out a staged scene... it is both amusing and unsettling. Curator: Indeed. The image resonates with a complex history of how animals, and especially primates, have been used to reflect and satirize human behavior, often reinforcing social hierarchies. Editor: The baseball game itself is rich in symbolism. It is a uniquely American sport, often associated with ideals of teamwork and fair play, but it can also symbolize competition and exclusion. Curator: Right, and the theatrical setting adds another layer. Are we meant to see this as critique of performance—social performance, perhaps? Editor: It certainly invites questions about who is watching whom, and what narratives are being constructed about difference. It holds a mirror up to culture. Curator: I find myself contemplating what this tells us about past attitudes toward animals, and how those attitudes connect to broader issues of power and representation. Editor: Agreed. And it encourages us to consider the enduring power of images to shape our understanding of the world around us.