Vogel in veld c. 1900 - 1940

Curator: Here we have a photograph by Richard Tepe titled "Vogel in veld," placing us sometime between 1900 and 1940. Editor: Well, right away, I'm seeing so much… I’m plunged right into that overgrown field. There’s a real stillness, almost a secretiveness about it. Is there actually a bird hiding in there, or is that just my imagination running wild? Curator: The title does hint at avian presence. Tepe, often working in pictorialist and realist modes, seemed particularly drawn to capturing quieter moments in nature, scenes easily overlooked. Here, we see that captured in photography. Look closely at the grass, its texture so deliberately emphasized. Editor: It’s all in the grass, isn’t it? I find myself wondering about Tepe’s process, you know? What kind of camera? What kind of darkroom magic created that ethereal effect. Were the flowers blurred by choice, by chance, or by the technical limitations of the time? And were these readily available tools, or exclusive ones? Curator: I agree. Examining photography like this invites us to reconsider how much the technology and available resources impacted the artistic output, shaping what was considered a desirable image during that era. Editor: Precisely! You start questioning whether "Vogel in veld" romanticizes a connection to nature—maybe obscuring how technology was then reshaping human interaction with the environment. I like the ambiguity. The everyday scene transformed into a thoughtful tableau, prompting subtle reflections. Curator: Yes, exactly, and Tepe invites that quiet meditation by framing something ostensibly unremarkable, asking us to reconsider the artistry in the mundane. It resonates, certainly. Editor: Indeed. It’s a curious image. I can’t help but feel both invited in, and kept slightly at arm's length. Almost like witnessing a moment you weren’t supposed to see. It really pulls me.