Untitled (neon lights at night; a clown) c. 1950

Curator: Jack Gould’s small-scale photograph, taken sometime in the 20th century, captures a neon clown sign against a dark backdrop. Editor: Striking! The stark contrast throws the vibrant neon into sharp relief. The composition is almost claustrophobic, enhancing the sign's eerie glow. Curator: Exactly. Neon signs, especially clowns, acquired a somewhat seedy reputation through their association with nightlife and entertainment culture. Their deployment was very specific. Editor: Semiotically, the artist is playing with this. The garish colors and simplified form reduce the figure to its essence. It's about the feeling of the place, more than the clown itself. Curator: It does raise questions about the clown’s cultural position in the American landscape, its unsettling yet alluring public presence. Editor: For me, it is the manipulation of light. How Gould transformed something potentially tawdry into an evocative image. Curator: The photograph gives us a sense of history and the social implications of this kind of sign. Editor: And for me, the neon clown glows and invites the eye to find shapes and colors of the unknown.