Untitled (man with laundry piles) c. 1950

Curator: This is an untitled work by Jack Gould, held here at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a compact gelatin silver print, depicting a man with piles of laundry. Editor: Bleak, industrial. It’s all grays and stark lighting, those huge piles of cloth kind of swallowing the scene. Makes you feel… heavy. Curator: Indeed. Gould's work often presents these unvarnished glimpses into working life, exploring themes of labor and routine through a very humanistic lens. Editor: It almost feels like a staged tableau, but there's a rawness to it, a lack of romanticizing the working class, which feels quite modern. Curator: I agree. It’s a powerful study of place and the people within it. Editor: Definitely offers a unique perspective on labor and the environment, really makes you think about the untold stories held within these spaces.