Een voorbeeld van de vele moeilijkheden 1931 - 1934

Atelier Kurkdjian made this gelatin silver print, "Een voorbeeld van de vele moeilijkheden", and the whole image has a really gritty, grainy quality to it. It's a study in the subtleties of gray, like a charcoal drawing where the artist is exploring every possible tone between black and white. Looking at the lower part of the picture, the foreground is filled with watery ground, the reflections blurring the line between earth and sky. You can almost feel the mud squishing under your feet. Then, your eye is drawn to the train and the crowd of people around it, the details just a bit smudged. It reminds me a bit of Gerhard Richter’s blurred photos-paintings. There's a sense of capturing a moment, but also of the impossibility of truly holding onto it. Like trying to grasp a handful of water - you can feel it, but it slips away. This piece is not just about what’s there, but what we bring to it, and how our own experiences color what we see.