Grondpompen 1936 - 1937

Editor: Here we have an interesting photograph from 1936 or 1937, titled "Grondpompen," or "Ground Pumps." It's held at the Rijksmuseum and created by an anonymous artist. There's an incredible sense of order here, with rows upon rows of what seem to be machine parts. What catches your eye? Curator: I see a documentation of industrial production, a visual inventory. Let's consider the materials and process. This photograph, documenting pumps likely manufactured in a colonial context – "Soerabaia," now Surabaya, was a key port in the Dutch East Indies – presents an interesting tension. On the one hand, it seems to celebrate modern industrial capabilities. Yet, it's important to question the labour conditions. What does the image suggest about labour and manufacturing in the Dutch East Indies at the time? Editor: That’s interesting, I hadn't considered the colonial implications so explicitly. Do you think the photographic medium itself plays a role in how we perceive this "celebration?" Curator: Absolutely. Photography was becoming increasingly accessible, used for documentation but also propaganda. The seemingly objective eye of the camera could reinforce a particular view of progress, potentially obscuring the social realities behind this industrial display. These machines may be destined to extract resources. What is ultimately the "ground" in "ground pumps?" Editor: I suppose that's not neutral either, the ground as material. I appreciate how you connected the photographic medium with labor and the political climate. It really shifts how I view the rows of pumps. Curator: Exactly. It moves from simply appreciating the aesthetics of form to questioning the systems of production and the social forces at play. Seeing art as embedded within material conditions makes all the difference.