Personen bij ruïnes aan de Aert van Nesstraat te Rotterdam c. 1940 - 1945

J. Nolte made this photograph, "Personen bij ruïnes aan de Aert van Nesstraat te Rotterdam," capturing a moment amidst urban devastation; the process is right there in the shades of gray, the choices about light and shadow which communicate so much with so little. The photo's textures—the rough edges of broken buildings, the smooth water, the grainy sky—become a stage. I can almost feel the grit under my feet, imagine the silence punctuated by distant sounds of rebuilding. The rubble on the left, a chaotic pile, it’s like a still life, but it's not a vase of flowers, it's the bones of a city laid bare. It makes me think of Walker Evans, who approached a similar subject matter with a similar eye; a vision that’s straightforward but feels deeply connected to the world around us. Art captures not just what we see, but how we keep going in the face of… well, you know.