Grand Coulee Dam, Columbia River, Verenigde Staten: bouwen van de fundering 1936

This photograph by Wouter Cool documents the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam in the United States, capturing a moment of intense creation and transformation. Imagine Cool there, composing the image. What was he thinking? It's a kind of portrait, but of industry. The mountains in the background are dwarfed by the new structures. I wonder if Cool was thinking about the relationship between nature and technology? I think he's saying that the built environment is becoming part of the landscape itself, right? The composition and the play of light emphasize the scale and ambition of the project. The metal latticework cuts through the landscape. This disrupts the natural scenery with human intervention. It reminds me of the work of other photographers who have documented industrial landscapes, like Bernd and Hilla Becher. But this feels different, more optimistic, a celebration of progress. Ultimately, this photograph invites us to reflect on our relationship with the environment and the impact of human endeavor on the natural world.