Prauwen bij een onderzeeër in de wateren van Nederlands-Indië c. 1920 - 1930

Curator: Let's turn our attention to a gelatin silver print by Klaas (I) Kleiterp, created between 1920 and 1930. The title translates to "Canoes near a submarine in the waters of the Dutch East Indies". Editor: It has a very strange placid yet haunting mood, I must say. The sepia tones lend it an archaic feeling, which juxtaposes oddly with the futuristic form of the submarine, a large horizontal block dominating the composition and dwarfing the human figures in their boats. Curator: I agree, there's a strong contrast. Focusing on formal arrangement, observe how the composition is divided into distinct planes – the foreground water, the horizontal mass of the submarine amidships, and the lighter sky which provides spatial separation to articulate foreground from the background in the image. Kleiterp uses tonal variation to emphasize this three-tiered structuring; notice that he establishes these horizontal layers so as to set off in greater relief the boats around the vessel’s flanks. Editor: Indeed, and it’s in those smaller boats where I see potent symbolism. They speak to the colonial dynamic between the local population and the imposing naval presence. Their canoes clustering so close around the larger submarine presents a very compelling visual metaphor for power dynamics between technology and the seemingly small actors affected. Also, that small group assembled right atop the sub appears to signify domination. Curator: The strategic placement of those boats is very compelling, adding a distinct structural balance in relation to the location and arrangement of all the picture’s components. Editor: Considering orientalist traditions, perhaps Kleiterp intended to showcase an almost passive subjugation, turning a military machine into a spectacle. The photo offers a view of a fleeting intersection of culture and technological power. Curator: Very insightful! Seeing the way that geometric solidity in contrast to organic chaos of the human presence and the sea's surface contributes to a compelling study in material contrasts within the composition. Editor: Precisely! In delving deeper into visual metaphor here, what began as an old image soon evolves into a multifaceted discourse on culture and might, with both technology and humanity captured at odds, perhaps forever changed.