Ferris Wheel (Ruské kolo) 1933

This black and white photograph by Ladislav Foltýn captures a worm's eye view of a Ferris wheel; its hulking metal structure reaching up into the sky. Look at the way those metal girders converge; it’s like Foltýn is constructing a whole new visual language here. I can imagine Foltýn, craning his neck, trying to capture the immensity of this industrial-age marvel. There is the challenge of translating a three-dimensional form onto a two-dimensional surface, dealing with perspective, and finding a composition that balances the structural elements with the void of the sky. The Ferris wheel becomes a subject, but also a means for Foltýn to work through ideas about form and space. There is a constant dialogue going on between artists across time, isn’t there? Foltýn’s photograph echoes the visual experiments of the Bauhaus movement, or even the sharp angles of constructivist photography. It’s like they are all in this ongoing conversation, pushing each other to see the world in new ways.