Kameleon c. 1900 - 1910

Henricus Jacobus Tollens made this photograph titled "Kameleon." The boat sits in the water, still and sturdy. I think about Tollens standing on the shore, the sun on his face, choosing the moment to press the button. Think of the technical skill to get the exposure right! Look at the light on the water and the way the boat seems to float on the surface, as if suspended in time. The boat named "Kameleon." What a curious choice! Was Tollens thinking about the nature of change and adaptation? Or perhaps he saw the boat as a kind of shape-shifter, blending into its environment. Photography is an art that captures a moment but also opens to endless interpretations. I'm thinking of other artists of his time and how the medium was used to interpret the world. Each artist is in conversation with the past, present, and future. Art, like life, is a process of becoming.