The bonfire during construction 2019

Alfred Freddy Krupa made this photograph, "The Bonfire During Construction" with what looks like a digital camera, creating a striking image in black and white. The tonal range gives it a great sense of drama, like an old movie. What I love here is how Krupa builds this form out of individual pallets - he’s thinking sculpturally, but also about the process of assembly, the way things come together. There's something beautiful in the repetition of these modular wooden blocks and how they stack up, like a fortress or some strange kind of temporary architecture. It reminds me of Richard Serra's work, but with more of a down-to-earth sensibility. The single pole rising from the center against the backdrop of the sky and river, gives the image a feeling of hopeful anticipation. This photograph speaks to the idea of art as a verb, an action, a thing under construction.