Untitled (girl in bathing cap and flippers on deck by pool) c. 1950

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.