Koor van de Plaskerk te Raalte 1910

This small photographic print shows a church situated in Raalte. Looking at this little building, I’m thinking about the impulse to record and document. The photographer has framed the structure head-on, in tones of grey and brown. There's something so touching about the way someone felt compelled to record this building, maybe preserving it in time. They probably stood in the same spot, squinting against the light, just like I would. I can almost feel the coolness of the stone, the solemnity of the churchyard. Think about the labor involved; the arrangement of bricks, the physical effort, the coordination with others. How many hands touched this building over time, and for what purpose? That impulse to build, to record, to document, is something that painters share too. We make marks, add layers, and build up surfaces in pursuit of something meaningful. I see a real kinship between this form of documentation and the act of painting.