Rollenpers Possibly 1934 - 1936

This photograph, “Rollenpers,” captures an anonymous scene. The stark greyscale palette lends a timeless quality, doesn’t it? You could say it is a world caught between then and now. My eye is drawn to the way the anonymous photographer arranges the machinery into rigid lines. It mirrors our own methods for making art, but here, in this factory space, it's functional rather than aesthetic. The dark, heavy forms of the machines contrast the faint, far away workers and create a play of light and shadow that's almost painterly. It's fascinating how the photographer transforms a mundane industrial scene into something that reminds me of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s photographic work, those incredible typologies of industrial buildings. Both capture the austere beauty of the industrial landscape. Here, the photographer creates a composition that elevates the everyday into the realm of art. It suggests that art is everywhere, if we only learn to see it.