Gezicht in Knoxville, Tennessee, Verenigde Staten: 1936

Wouter Cool captured this photograph of a street view in Knoxville, Tennessee, using gelatin silver print. The image, dominated by shades of grey, is structured along receding lines of street and architecture, creating a distinct sense of depth. The composition balances a lone figure walking away from the viewer on the left with a series of billboards to the right. These billboards, fragments of consumer culture, disrupt the perspectival flow and introduce a layer of semiotic complexity. Cool juxtaposes the individual against the backdrop of commercial messaging, inviting questions about the relationship between personal experience and public representation. The stark contrast between the detailed foreground and the softened background implicates how our attention is often mediated by advertising. This visual strategy underscores how urban environments shape our perceptions and behaviors.