Een scène uit het toneelstuk 'Wat Jonas overkwam' Possibly 1936

Fotobureau Stevens made this photograph of 'Een scène uit het toneelstuk 'Wat Jonas overkwam''. I wonder if they knew that this scene would be viewed so far into the future? It’s all here in front of us: composition, character, action. As a painter, I’m thinking about how the photographer made so many decisions about how to create this scene. What to leave in, what to leave out. There’s a push and pull of dark and light, creating so many possibilities. Is the man standing on the left the hero of the play? What’s going on with the person sitting on the chair surrounded by other actors? Artists are always looking at each other, and at each other’s work. It makes me think about the choices we make. The ongoing conversation in art and how we can use the ideas of the past to fuel our creativity. A photograph, like a painting, is an embodied expression which embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.