Transformer at an Electric Power Station, United States 1936

Wouter Cool made this photograph of a "Transformer at an Electric Power Station, United States", sometime in the first half of the twentieth century. It’s all cool grays and whites, a real study in tonality. I'm really drawn to the surface quality of this photograph. It looks like an original gelatin silver print and the matte surface really gives it a kind of flatness that emphasizes the formal geometry of these large hulking transformers, making it feel very immediate and present. The high contrast also gives it punch and drama, almost making these industrial objects feel like figures in a landscape. The dark shadows cast from the transformers are such a cool sharp angle against the hard surfaces, creating a pattern of dark and light that almost reads as an abstract composition. The work of the Bechers springs to mind, although Cool's composition feels less studied, more accidental, perhaps. I think of art as a kind of conversation across time and space, one big mash-up of ideas and influences. And I love that this image reminds me that art can be found in the most unexpected places!