Krakkebrug - Sectie M. 1905

Curator: Okay, let’s talk about this cyanotype photograph titled "Krakkebrug - Sectie M.," made around 1905. The artist here is Jacob Evert Wesenhagen. What strikes you about it initially? Editor: Well, besides the fact that it's so blue!, I feel this sense of profound stillness. There's an untouched quality, like time itself is holding its breath over that ramshackle bridge. Melancholic, yet compelling. Curator: It’s interesting that you describe it as melancholic. Cyanotypes, given their process, often lend themselves to that blue wash, but I’d argue that in Wesenhagen’s time, this medium had different political and aesthetic associations. Photography itself, newly adopted, was about documenting progress, which always has winners and losers, in this case possibly exploited labor and displaced people, depending on which part of the world this scene comes from. Editor: That's true, the photographic medium itself was always loaded with complex perspectives, capturing nature and exploiting resources in single exposure. Still, though the context informs our viewing, this is such a dreamlike landscape; those high contrast cyanotypes do make reality appear filtered, and very poignant. I am looking now and am also intrigued by that thin bridge seeming to lead toward that densely overgrown forest; doesn’t it almost feels symbolic? Curator: That symbolic nature probably didn't exist for the documenters of these things; but indeed it is possible we project ourselves onto images to make meaning. We make stories out of it to relate to it. Do you suppose others will find it equally resonant? Editor: I think they might! Wesenhagen gives us just enough visual information for us to spin our own tales of forgotten places, progress, exploitation and time's gentle and also harsh passage. Ultimately, this piece lingers in the mind and makes you feel that you know its mysteries! Curator: Precisely. The conversation that can arise when photography enters a collection opens multiple threads between time and perspective; making these objects enduringly thought-provoking for future audiences to come!