Militairen en transport te Grobogan 1910 - 1928

This page from a photo album, titled ‘Militairen en transport te Grobogan’ is by an anonymous maker. What grabs me about it is its tender roughness, like it was made in a state of dreaming. Three small sepia-toned photos are glued onto a creamy page, each captioned in elegant cursive. Little sketches in red and brown ink frame the images. They don't quite meet, leaving tiny gaps, like thoughts trailing off. These incomplete gestures act like a counterpoint to the rigid military theme. There's a tension here. Look closely, and you see a subtle layering, a process of adding and letting go. The texture of the paper, the way the photos catch the light, all contribute to its emotional weight. It reminds me of Joseph Cornell’s boxes, filled with ephemera, each telling a story. Or maybe, on a formal level, Kurt Schwitters comes to mind. Ultimately, I see the nature of art as an ongoing conversation, embracing ambiguity.