Hopperzuiger Amsterdam IV

Editor: So here we have Henricus Jacobus Tollens' "Hopperzuiger Amsterdam IV", likely from 1907, in a photogram print. There’s something quite stark about it, all those grays… like looking at a ghost of a ship. What jumps out at you when you see this? Curator: Ghost ship, yes, I love that. I’m caught by the industrial beauty amidst the serene water. It’s a document, of course, but Tollens' eye turns a utilitarian vessel into almost a character. You know, the smokestacks like hats, the dredging arm a strange mechanical limb… does it feel more portrait or landscape to you? Editor: Portrait, definitely! There’s a lot of personality, especially compared to the blank sky. I guess I wouldn’t normally think of a ship as having a “gaze” but this one almost does. Curator: Right? It's holding our attention. Think of all the silt that ship sucked up – it's like she holds the secrets of the harbor floor. And in black and white – was it better suited to show how progress impacts the water, or…? Editor: That’s something. Thinking of the water not just as a backdrop. The uniformity helps bring forward those details. I’ll have to look at photograms differently. Curator: Absolutely! It goes to show even in what appears simplest we often find something of interest. The artist’s eye making beauty accessible to us all.