Untitled (girl in bathing cap and flippers on deck by pool) by Jack Gould

c. 1950

Untitled (girl in bathing cap and flippers on deck by pool)

Listen to curator's interpretation

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Curatorial notes

Curator: What strikes me is the ghostly, almost dreamlike quality of this photograph. Editor: It's interesting you say that. This untitled work, attributed to Jack Gould, presents a girl in a bathing cap and flippers by a pool—but presented as a photographic negative. Curator: Precisely. The reversal of light and shadow lends an ethereal air, turning a mundane scene into something otherworldly. The geometry of her flippers also create a strong diagonal, bisecting the frame. Editor: True. That dramatic shift in tonality, from light to dark, emphasizes the texture and form of the figure— almost reminiscent of early experimental photography. Curator: It’s as if the artist is inviting us to see beyond the surface, to imagine the unseen, the potential energy held within this moment. Editor: Yes, Gould plays with the idea of capturing a fleeting moment— a reversed image, suspended in time. It’s strangely captivating.