Untitled (several people holding political posters and signs at mock convention) c. 1955

Curator: This intriguing photograph, by Jack Gould, captures what appears to be a mock political convention, replete with signs and enthusiastic supporters. Editor: The negative tonality of the black and white immediately gives it an unsettling, almost ghostly air. The subjects are familiar yet distanced. Curator: It feels very staged, doesn't it? Perhaps referencing the role of performativity within political movements and the construction of public image. "We Like Ike" indeed, with its carefully arranged supporters. Editor: I am drawn to the portrait of a man named "Blackburn" with an unsettling smile in the center; the contrast heightens this effect. The formal qualities add to the image's ambiguous and slightly disturbing message. Curator: The fact it is located at Harvard suggests a careful consideration of political identity formation, and the reproduction of images in the service of that formation. It is interesting how the image captures something about the American socio-political landscape. Editor: The composition leaves me pondering the relationship between representation and reality—a skillfully unsettling work.