Untitled (Beaux Arts Ball, woman with man in caveman costume) c. 1950

Editor: This is an untitled gelatin silver print by Jack Gould, documenting the Beaux Arts Ball. It's quite small. The costumes are fascinating. What catches your eye here? Curator: The tension between the artificiality of the costumes and the candid nature of the photograph itself is intriguing. Note how the composition situates the figures; their arrangement invites semiotic analysis. What might their placement suggest? Editor: Perhaps a contrast between the constructed identities and their real selves? It makes me wonder about the meaning of the ball itself. Curator: Precisely. The photograph's value, therefore, resides not merely in its aesthetic qualities but in how it deconstructs notions of representation and reality within a social context. Editor: This has certainly changed how I see the piece. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure. It’s rewarding to consider the layers embedded in such a seemingly simple image.