Carbidoven bij Shawinigan Dam 1936

Wouter Cool took this black and white photograph, titled 'Carbidoven bij Shawinigan Dam', sometime in the early part of the 20th century. The tones are mostly dark grays, with glimmers of ghostly white and light gray. I love the way that Cool has positioned his shot to draw you into the cavernous interior of this industrial machine. Look at the way he has captured the stark contrast between light and shadow, the strange geometry of the architecture! I can feel the artist shifting slightly this way and that, trying to compose the image, maybe even holding his breath. I am reminded of other artists, like the German photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch, and the way he found beauty in industrial forms. It’s like Cool is saying that even in the heart of industry, there’s a kind of unexpected beauty to be found. The history of photography is one of artists discovering new ways of seeing, and revealing these discoveries to us.