Making Apparatus for Laboratory c. 1937

Lewis Hine made this photograph, "Making Apparatus for Laboratory", with gelatin silver. Look at the way the light plays on the glass, how the tubes curve and join. It reminds me of a drawing, all line and form. And the worker's intense focus, the way he manipulates the glass with the flame. It’s like watching a painter coaxing color onto a canvas. The textures are so interesting, aren’t they? The smooth, reflective glass against the rougher tools and the soft gradations of light and shadow. The way the light flares, almost obscuring the process. The heat of the flame seems palpable. It's like a metaphor for the transformative power of art, turning raw materials into something new. Hine was really interested in documenting labor and industry. Like Charles Sheeler, maybe? Both interested in the beauty and rhythm of work. For me this piece speaks to art as a process of constant experimentation and transformation, embracing chance and improvisation. It’s about the making, not just the made.