Plynojem (Gas Tank) 1947

Václav Chochola made this photograph called Plynojem, of a gas tank, using a camera and film, though the date isn't known. The photograph revels in an almost monochromatic palette. The tonality is soft, and the gradations subtle, not unlike a charcoal drawing. It’s full of different kinds of lines. Look at the way the wires and the edges of the buildings create this network effect, it's like a big cat's cradle. That great dark, rounded form of the gas tank in the lower right is so interesting in its relationship to the lines above. The heavy, almost looming sphere anchors the light and airy tracery overhead. I love how Chochola finds such compositional balance using such disparate elements. It kind of reminds me of László Moholy-Nagy's constructivist photography, but a little bit weirder and more haunting. Ultimately, it’s about seeing beauty in the unexpected, finding form in the everyday.