Ruïnes van gebouwen aan de Hugo de Grootstraat te Rotterdam c. 1940 - 1945

This small photograph by J. Nolte captures the ruins of buildings on Hugo de Grootstraat in Rotterdam. There’s such a strong sense of place here. I can almost imagine Nolte standing there, composing the shot, thinking about how to frame this scene of devastation. It’s the everydayness that gets me. People are going about their business amidst the rubble, walking past what’s been destroyed, and the photograph immortalizes that juxtaposition. It’s almost as if Nolte wanted to capture the resilience of the city and its inhabitants. Think of the work of someone like Anselm Kiefer. His paintings are also about ruins, destruction, and history. But where Kiefer uses thick paint and texture to convey the weight of the past, Nolte uses the clarity and precision of photography. It's a different way of seeing, a different way of feeling. And, you know, that's what art is all about – different ways of experiencing the world. It's a conversation across time, artists responding to artists, each inspiring the next.