Gezicht op de gebouwen van de papierfabriek van Godin in Hoei before 1906

This monochromatic photograph shows the view of the buildings of the Godin paper factory in Hoei. I try to imagine how this composition might have been made. Did the photographer return multiple times to capture it? Or did they happen upon it in one swift shot? Either way, the composition is an intriguing mix of geometry and natural form, all rendered in tonal shades of grey. I wonder about the choices the photographer made, the way they framed the image, included some things, excluded others. Did they want us to focus on the hard, angular lines of the buildings, or the soft, organic forms of the surrounding landscape? Making art is all about choices, and that's what makes it so endlessly fascinating. Artists make a series of decisions, each one building on the last, and in the end, something new emerges. It's a conversation between the artist, the materials, and the world around them.