Installatie 1931 - 1937

This anonymous, undated installation photograph now lives at the Rijksmuseum and comes to us in black and white. I can see the grays shifting and emerging. I imagine it was quite a task, maybe a kind of dare, to capture something so bulky, so metallic and industrial. I sympathize with this mystery photographer. What was it like to lug heavy equipment to this unknown place and time? I imagine they were thinking about how to convey its size and presence, the geometry of its forms, the feeling of a well-oiled machine. There’s a beautiful evenness to the lighting, allowing us to see every detail and texture of the industrial beast. A little like Bernd and Hilla Becher, the German photographers. Photography, like painting, can be about capturing a moment and a mood, an elusive feeling. A record, yes, but also an exploration. It’s a way of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world, with all its ambiguity. I think this is a pretty amazing shot.