Bedrijfsgebouw Pasir-Malang 1936

This photograph of the Bedrijfsgebouw Pasir-Malang, made by an anonymous artist, is held in an album that lives at the Rijksmuseum. The photograph is black and white, which means that the anonymous artist really thought about their use of light and dark. I love that this image is in an album, and wonder if the artist arranged it there, or if someone else was involved in the presentation of the image. It’s a business building, but the presentation in an album gives it an intimate, personal feeling. I wonder about the relationship between industry and the personal lives of the artist and whoever put the book together. The building is fairly minimal, but there are all sorts of places to look and wonder about. The surfaces are fairly smooth, and seem very regular, but the whole impression of the image is dreamy and imprecise because of the light and tone. It makes me think of Bernd and Hilla Becher, the way they documented architecture in a very dry, factual way, and yet it became very emotional. This photograph is an early conversation in that history.