Rietlosinrichting in bedrijf 1917 - 1938

Here's a photograph by Otto Hisgen, entitled 'Rietlosinrichting in bedrijf', and it looks like it was made with a camera and a lot of patience. This photo is layered with industrial and human elements. I love the way Hisgen shows us the sugar cane, piled like a natural resource amidst all this constructed metal. You can almost feel the weight of the canes, the strength needed to harvest and move them. I’m imagining Hisgen setting up his camera, waiting for the right moment when the light hits just so, to capture the workers amidst this machine. It’s like he’s asking, how do we find the human in the machine? The organic within the mechanical? I wonder, what was he trying to capture about industry, about labor, about progress? Painters, photographers, we’re all in this ongoing conversation, trying to figure out how to translate what we see, feel, and think into something that speaks to others. Hisgen’s photo, it's not just a document; it’s an invitation to think about the world around us, and our place in it.