Watertoren bij suikerfabriek Ngandjoek op Java c. 1925 - 1930

This is a photograph titled "Watertoren bij suikerfabriek Ngandjoek op Java" by Isken. Here, we have the bones of a structure, naked in the light! I’m drawn to the latticework, crisscrossing like a map of intentions. Imagine Isken, framing this water tower against the sky. What caught their eye? The contrast between the rigid geometry of the tower and the organic sprawl of the trees? Maybe it was the way the light filters through those branches, dappling the ground with shadow. I see Isken, not just recording a scene, but feeling it. Feeling the weight of the metal, the height of the structure. I wonder what other artists influenced Isken's work - the way they frame the subject, the tonal quality of the image. Art-making is like a conversation, a call and response across time. We’re all just riffing off each other, taking what we need, and adding our own voice to the mix.