Vervallen gebouwen bij een vijver in Nederlands-Indië 1912

Onnes Kurkdjian made this photograph of old buildings near a pond in the Dutch East Indies sometime in the late 19th century. I imagine Kurkdjian, carefully composing this shot, thinking about light, shadow, and form. How does the human structure weather and decay back into the earth? It reminds me of other painters' interests like Caspar David Friedrich, who was painting romantic ruins a century earlier. I love how the monochrome tonality simplifies the scene, turning architecture and plant life into graphic shapes. The details of the decaying buildings become textures, telling stories of time and neglect. The stillness of the pond reflects the scene, doubling the image, pulling me in to this quiet, reflective space. The conversation of how the built environment sits within nature is a constant one for artists. It reminds me of Robert Smithson’s earthworks, art emerging out of landscape, always in flux. Photography, like painting, captures a moment, but also hints at the processes of change, decay, and renewal.