Untitled (long line of people inside cafeteria, waiting in line for food) 1946

Editor: Here we have an untitled photograph by Jack Gould, showing a long cafeteria line. It gives me a sense of being overwhelmed, almost lost in a crowd. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It's the anonymity that strikes me. They're all here, going through the motions, but are they truly connected? Perhaps Gould is hinting at the silent choreography of shared spaces, you know? Editor: That makes me think of how routines can feel, both comforting and isolating. Curator: Precisely! And the inversion of the image, it gives the photograph a ghostly quality, as if to question the solidity of these everyday experiences. It leaves you wondering, doesn't it? Editor: It does! I'll definitely look at lunch lines differently now.