KLM-personeel en handtekeningen c. 1949

Editor: Here we have “KLM-personeel en handtekeningen,” a collage featuring photographs and prints, attributed to an anonymous artist around 1949. It’s a fascinating assembly, like a scrapbook page. I’m struck by the repetition of portraits, especially alongside what appears to be a dense collection of signatures. What do you make of it? Curator: It's intriguing as a social document, particularly viewed through the lens of institutional history. It seems to be a constructed image intended for the public eye or a closed internal circuit, probably circulated among KLM employees at that time. The arrangement, grouping photos with signatures, elevates these figures – mostly men – to a level of recognition, celebrating KLM's workforce, giving them some notability within the frame of the organization. Editor: So, it's less about individual artistry and more about collective identity? Curator: Precisely. Think about the context of the time. Post-war, national pride, and institutional branding were significant. KLM, as the Royal Dutch Airline, was central to re-establishing Dutch identity. The presentation suggests this was used within the community. Editor: What do you think the effect would be? Almost a family photograph? Curator: Maybe, but perhaps it’s more about codifying hierarchies. Whose signatures are most prominent? Where are they placed? Are there distinctions in the images of the crew and the administrators? That arrangement would suggest social ranking in practice, where its circulation would either reassert social power dynamics or perhaps equalize its workforce’s perceived relevance to a national airline’s branding. Editor: That's a darker reading than I initially imagined, but it does make you consider the power dynamics. Thank you for sharing these valuable perspectives! Curator: My pleasure. The point is that artworks such as these may encode some unexamined power dynamics within corporate structures in society. Approaching them from that point of view will yield great understanding and allow better insight into how imagery continues to influence us today.