Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, Verenigde Staten, in aanbouw 1936

Editor: We’re looking at a photograph from 1936, titled "Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, Verenigde Staten, in aanbouw", which translates to "under construction." I’m really struck by the almost dreamlike quality of it – that famous bridge caught mid-transformation, shrouded in fog and ambition. What stands out to you? Curator: Oh, the in-between states, the pregnant pauses… that's where life hums, doesn’t it? To me, this image is a beautiful symphony of the unfinished. We see the bridge as aspiration, not just architecture, reaching into a sky that feels both hopeful and turbulent. Do you feel that tension as well? It’s almost prophetic, as if the photographer knew they were capturing a monument not just in metal but in time. Editor: Absolutely. There's that sense of possibility. But also… vulnerability? All those supports and girders, laid bare. Curator: Precisely! It’s naked ambition. Look at the angle – from the water, emphasizing its scale but also our smallness against this endeavor. And the choice of monochrome…it strips away distraction, letting us focus on texture and form, the nuts and bolts – literal and metaphorical – of progress. Almost like a stage play – where it lacks set decoration – and instead wants to focus on emotions. Don't you find that's such a poignant comment? Editor: I do. Seeing it like that shifts everything. I came in thinking about the bridge as an icon, but it’s really about human endeavor, a process. I love your image of "naked ambition," and to remember all of this took place during the Great Depression. Thanks for helping me appreciate it differently. Curator: My pleasure. Sometimes the cracks and the unfinished bits let in the most light.