Vier gezichten te West-Terschelling 1931 - 1935

Curator: The gelatin silver print we're looking at, entitled "Vier gezichten te West-Terschelling," by Berti Hoppe, dates from between 1931 and 1935. It showcases four different views of West-Terschelling. Editor: My first thought is the sheer mundanity, but also the quiet dignity of everyday life in this port town. The compositions are straightforward; there's a sense of documenting rather than aestheticizing. Curator: Absolutely, it is important to consider Hoppe's position as a female photographer navigating a male-dominated space. This image participates in a longer lineage of representing women's relationships with the working landscape in early photography, even if indirectly. What narratives do you think the landscape holds? Editor: Well, looking closely at the printmaking itself – the tangible textures of the silver gelatin – draws my attention to the tangible realities these photographs document: the materials used to construct the buildings, the weight of the fishing vessels in the harbor, and even the clothes worn by the locals, we glimpse labor and social structure. It anchors the artistic process. Curator: That emphasis is essential. By looking closer at those material choices – that gelatin silver medium – what commentary on Dutch social history does Hoppe’s image seem to generate in your mind? It evokes, in me, themes about women in industrialism, and that struggle for autonomy through craft. Editor: I agree that focusing on process does suggest larger networks: How accessible was this medium at this time? What training and studio spaces was Berti Hoppe affiliated with to pursue photography? That material consideration complicates notions of Hoppe's individual subjectivity. I’m reminded of other works of working port towns from around this period... but those usually involve some grander scale; there's such intimacy in this gelatin print! Curator: True! Intimacy is, arguably, key. Ultimately, viewing these scenes, my perspective always gravitates back towards this woman creating artwork in an age of enormous inequity—reaffirming those social contexts framing these cityscapes. Editor: A fantastic thought that enriches these understated landscapes, as these photographs offer tangible reminders about art as part of everyday realities and working conditions. It all deepens the picture.