Bedrijfspand in aanbouw 1914 - 1919

Curator: Here we have an interesting image entitled "Bedrijfspand in aanbouw," which translates to "Commercial Building Under Construction," taken sometime between 1914 and 1919 by an anonymous photographer. It’s quite rare to come across a landscape captured on film! Editor: It’s raw, isn’t it? All stark lines and grey skies, feels like looking at a future taking shape in real time, except it’s also from the past. It kind of echoes forward, doesn't it? Like the idea of progress is forever under construction. Curator: I agree. Considering the timeframe, it probably reflects the social and economic changes happening, maybe the shift towards industrialisation, particularly with the lack of details of where the image has been taken, and how buildings are built at the time in that place. Editor: Right! You can almost smell the fresh cut wood, feel the humidity. The photograph seems staged, like a diorama or a construction itself – it feels posed with purpose and staged in order to generate an atmosphere around its construction. Curator: Photography was evolving rapidly then. Beyond its artistic merit, this piece documents a period of architectural and perhaps also technological advancement. It is evidence. We can appreciate how crucial the context around art making and dissemination informs the history we consume as its public. Editor: But there’s beauty here too, in the chaos of creation, in the quiet testament to labour. That interplay of light and shadow, even in monochrome, almost feels like optimism to me. Does anyone even stop to look back at it later once everything’s done, the builders long gone and everything’s in place, I wonder? Curator: Perhaps not, but in a way that is the real joy: rediscovering hidden narratives embedded in unexpected historical visuals like this. Editor: Absolutely. A humble reminder that progress always has a story, layers upon layers, even when captured simply like this in greyscale.