Thee sorteermachine 1936

Editor: Here we have a gelatin silver print titled "Thee sorteermachine", or "Tea Sorting Machine", created in 1936 by an anonymous artist. It looks like something from a Charlie Chaplin film, a silent comedy of industry. I’m curious, what grabs your attention when you look at this photograph? Curator: You know, it strikes me as a wonderfully awkward ballet of engineering! It's got this fantastic Modernist aesthetic, all about celebrating industry. And yet, it feels slightly absurd. Perhaps because we don’t know *who* made it or the photo, we are looking at a celebration with no identified champion. What about the presence of the human figure, almost dwarfed by the machine? Editor: Yes! It highlights the scale of the machine and sort of emphasizes how industry was evolving and starting to overpower. Almost like a character in itself. What does that mean? Curator: The artist places industry at the centre. I wonder if this picture might be playing a sly joke? Industrialization promised progress, right? Faster production, better lives. But was it always a seamless, graceful process? Maybe there were clunky, awkward phases like this machine suggests! Maybe by presenting a somewhat impractical image of the machine at center with humans secondary is hinting at an early concern for whether humans would be relevant in an industry led economy. Editor: That’s fascinating. So it’s both a celebration and maybe a gentle critique, veiled by its almost comedic portrayal? Curator: Exactly! Art often wears a mask, inviting us to play detective with our eyes. I come away intrigued! Editor: Me too! I initially saw the photograph one way, and you've broadened that for me. I see the machine, and I think maybe industry takes over, which seems not so silly or comic. It gives it a more relevant weight and also changes what I initially considered it meant!