Boomklever op stok c. 1870 - 1940

Editor: So, here we have a gelatin-silver print titled "Boomklever op stok," which roughly translates to "Nuthatch on a Stick," dating somewhere between 1870 and 1940. It's a rather small bird perched on, well, a stick. It feels very quiet and still. What do you make of it? Curator: It reminds me of trying to hold onto a fleeting thought – that sense of capturing a small moment of the everyday and transforming it into something enduring. It feels humble, doesn’t it? A tiny bird against an unfocused backdrop of lake and trees… It's the magic of freezing time with light and silver. Do you find it striking that the artist focuses on such a commonplace scene? Editor: It is surprising! Most landscape photos try to capture something grand. I guess it's nice to find beauty in the mundane, in a little bird instead of a sweeping vista. But why choose to print it in a stereoscopic view? It is somewhat…disorienting to have two photos on one piece of work. Curator: Perhaps it's the artist's way of drawing our eye to that feeling of “being there.” I bet those Victorians found magic in this, the marvel of being brought right into the world of that tiny bird, on its humble stick! The artist probably also relished creating something timeless, even if their subject was a regular old bird in a landscape setting. Editor: That makes sense. It definitely reframes how I look at this piece. I didn’t consider the immersive element it could have had back then. Curator: Exactly. It really does open up all kinds of questions on what and how we value nature's moments! Editor: Thanks! This photograph is more thoughtful than I originally presumed!