Ruïnes van gebouwen bij de hoek van de Kruiskade met de Mauritsweg te Rotterdam c. 1940 - 1945

This photograph by J. Nolte captures the ruins of buildings at the corner of Kruiskade and Mauritsweg in Rotterdam, and what strikes me is the way Nolte coaxes a kind of stark beauty from devastation, a process not unlike artmaking itself. The monochromatic palette lends a timeless quality, focusing our attention on the textures, the fractured planes of brick and rubble. See how the light catches the jagged edges, the rough surfaces where buildings once stood. Nolte doesn’t shy away from the rawness; instead, the photo embraces the physicality of the scene, almost daring us to reach out and touch the debris. The sky is overcast, which gives the scene a melancholy air. I can imagine Atget having similar concerns when framing a shot. Ultimately, the work becomes a meditation on the nature of change and destruction, of history as an ongoing, messy process.