Fotoalbum van familie Van den Berg, 1910 1910

Editor: This is "Fotoalbum van familie Van den Berg, 1910," from the year 1910 by Hendrik Herman van den Berg. It includes drawing, print and photography on paper. It looks like a cover from a family album. I am curious about the personal stories it could reveal. What's your take? Curator: This album cover is a potent intersection of personal memory and larger historical currents. The image of the zeppelin immediately places it within the context of early 20th-century technological optimism and colonial ambition. How do you think the inclusion of this symbol affects our understanding of the Van den Berg family's place in that era? Editor: Well, it could suggest they were part of a wealthy, globally-minded class fascinated by progress? Curator: Precisely. And the "progress" of that time was inextricably linked to the exploitation of resources and people. Albums like these, while seemingly innocent, also become documents of complicity. The mountains might also be an idealized view of nature as something to be dominated. Considering that, what does it tell you that it’s a *family* album? Editor: It makes you wonder about the values being passed down. It is beautiful, and nostalgic but definitely also problematic. I appreciate how you connect it all to broader themes of the time. Curator: It’s crucial to unpack those layers, even in the most intimate objects. By viewing this album cover through a critical lens, we can start to understand how deeply embedded those ideologies were—and, perhaps, still are. Editor: I’ll definitely remember that when viewing other artworks going forward!