Compositie van veertien foto's van personen en onderwijs aan de Keizerlijke Militair-Medische Academie, gecombineerd met decoratie van medische instrumenten 1913

This photographic composition was made by V. Sabel’skij, and is like a spread from a scrapbook. The artist collects together images of people and objects related to medical training. These photographs are really about composition, and the juxtaposition of different textures and forms. See how the artist has placed the portraits of the military doctors right at the top of the page. And then he has these images of the instruments laid over the images of the different classrooms. The texture of the hard medical instruments contrasts with the soft focus on the faces. My eye is drawn to the shiny stethescope lying diagonally across the page, it acts as a bridge connecting the top and bottom half of the composition. I see a connection with the work of Hannah Hoch, the German Dada photomonteur. Both artists have a unique eye for seeing relationships and making new meaning through collage. Ultimately the power of this piece lies in its ambiguity, it embraces multiple layers of interpretation.