Bijeenkomst RAD Possibly 1941 - 1947

This photograph, Bijeenkomst RAD, was taken by NSB, and is now at the Rijksmuseum. In this black and white image the mark making is all about density and the tonal arrangement of the people in the stadium; their grey suits blending into the architecture. It's a study in seeing as a social act, an art of gathering. The texture, or lack of it, in this piece, speaks volumes. There is no expressive brushstroke, no gestural mark, just a collective visual field of bodies packed together. It has a strange effect as we are used to reading images in terms of intention, but here, it's the crowd that takes center stage. Look at the man in the centre, he is resting his head on his hand. Is he bored, tired, thoughtful, or something else entirely? This single mark, this small gesture, creates a moment of ambiguity within a larger sea of conformity. I’m reminded of the work of Gerhard Richter, particularly his photo paintings, where personal and collective histories collide in ways that resist easy narratives. In the end, art isn't about answers, but about opening up new questions and new ways of seeing.