Onbekende locatie in de Verenigde Staten: gezicht op 'het dorp behorend bij het grote werk' 1936

Wouter Cool made this photograph of an unknown location in the United States with, I presume, a camera and film, sometime in the first half of the 20th Century. It’s an amazing composition, and it reminds me that photographs are never neutral documents. The grainy texture and monochrome tones emphasize the scale of the landscape, but also the human impact on it. I am drawn to the geometry of the settlement; the way the buildings are arranged. There's a tension between the natural and the built environment here. The structures feel temporary against the backdrop of the mountains. Like a stage set made for something in particular, but I don't know what. It’s a bit like a Bernd and Hilla Becher photograph, but it also reminds me of some of the industrial landscapes that Charles Sheeler was painting at the same time. There's a similar fascination with the aesthetics of industry, but also a sense of detachment. It's interesting how artists find beauty in unexpected places, and how that beauty can make us think about the world in new ways.