Wehrmacht soldaten op oefening 1941 - 1943

This photograph, titled "Wehrmacht soldaten op oefening," was taken by an anonymous artist, and I'm immediately struck by its stark simplicity and quiet tension. Imagine the photographer lurking at the roadside, raising the camera surreptitiously. The image flickers out of focus, like a memory half-forgotten or a feeling just beyond words. The palette is reduced to variations of black and white, focusing our attention on the forms and figures in the composition. There is a quality of light that feels like a metaphor for the times, gray and indistinct. The soldiers’ bodies are anonymous, and there is no way to read their intentions, only their actions. What can we know of the truth behind their exercise, only what they are doing? But photography always leaves so much open to interpretation and speculation. As a painter, I know that it is in that open space that we find new perspectives and possibilities for understanding. Because, after all, what else can we do?