Scheidingsschakelaar in een electriciteitspaal 1936

Wouter Cool made this photograph of a disconnector in an electricity pole at an unknown date, using a photographic process. The grainy texture and monochromatic palette give it a timeless feel, like an artifact from a bygone industrial era. Look at how the light catches the porcelain insulators, those stacked, cylindrical forms that seem to float against the sky. There’s a tension between the hard, engineered shapes and the soft, almost dreamy quality of the image. The way the lines intersect and create this kind of geometric dance, reminds me of the constructivist paintings of the early 20th century. Cool shares something with artists like László Moholy-Nagy, who were also interested in technology. There is a shared appreciation of the beauty inherent in functional objects. Art is like an endless conversation across time, each artist responding to what came before, finding new ways to see the world.