Ophanging van een van de gondels van de zeppelin 1924

This image is a photograph of the suspension of one of the gondolas of the zeppelin, made by an anonymous artist. What strikes me is how the photograph almost feels like a drawing; the tonal range is so delicate, the contrast so subtle that the image feels built rather than captured. The gondola itself looks like a sketch, an idea in the process of becoming something real. It is a study of form and structure. Look at how the light falls across the zeppelin’s surface, revealing its immensity. This soft light is reflected again in the background, which seems to be the skeleton of a building, its metal structure a cage for these enormous machines. It’s the contrast between the fine, intricate structures of the gondola and the solid mass of the airship which really draws me in. It reminds me of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s photographs of industrial structures. Like them, this image captures a moment of transition, of something being made, an idea taking flight.