Reclamefoto met serviezen en keukengerei van de firma C. Read & Co., Baltimore, Maryland 1920 - 1930

This is a photograph of tableware, probably made to advertise the wares of C. Read & Co. in Baltimore, Maryland. Have you ever looked at a photo of plain white plates and thought about negative space? I mean, really seen it? Here, the stark contrast between the white ceramics and the dark background creates a certain tension—a visual push and pull. It is a bit cold. I wonder what the photographer thought they were doing. The composition is rather strict. I can imagine them moving the objects around, adjusting the lighting, trying to find the perfect angle that would make these mundane objects appealing. This image also reminds me a bit of the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher, the German photographers known for their series of black and white photographs of industrial buildings and structures. What is the nature of the archive and how can we activate it? What does it mean to see these objects outside of their normal context? Photographs, like paintings, are a way of looking and thinking about the world. It is a conversation across time, inspiring ways of seeing, thinking, and experiencing.