Sf. Kemanglen Tweelingmachine voor onafhankelijke aandrijving rietcarrier / Sf. Padjarakan Stoomgedreven ruwsappomp 1916 - 1924

This is a photo from an album page in the Rijksmuseum, it's of two machines, one called 'Sf. Kemanglen Tweelingmachine' and the other 'Sf. Padjarakan Stoomgedreven ruwsappomp'. Both are these pale grey metal things, with a whole array of pipes and tubes and things. I love these pictures, because they are so devoid of anything 'human' or 'artistic' in the traditional sense, and yet they have a kind of beauty! The anonymous photographer, presumably commissioned to make a record of these objects, has given them a kind of care. Look at the way the light falls on these metal forms, and you can kind of imagine the way they function as physical entities. It's a great reminder that art isn't just about some high-minded spiritual expression, it's about process, form, and the joy of seeing. You could see Bernd and Hilla Becher being influenced by images like this; celebrating the beauty of industrial architecture and design! It reminds us that we don't need to find fixed meanings but to appreciate the conversation that art has, and continues to have, with the world around us.