Oostzijde van de Hervormde Kerk te Nijbroek 1909

This photograph of the Oostzijde van de Hervormde Kerk te Nijbroek was captured by an anonymous artist in 1909. It’s a black and white image of a church, seen through a screen of trees, all branches and leaves. It’s anonymous, see? That means we can only guess at the conditions in which it was made. It makes me think about the way our experience of an artwork depends on a whole ecosystem of factors. We’ve got the artist, of course, and their intentions, but also their influences, their state of mind, the weather on the day… Then we have our own situation, who we are, what we bring to our viewing. I wonder what the photographer was thinking? The sun is behind the church, giving it definition and volume. They must have liked the church, the photographer, to want to take its picture. I like to think they were inspired by the shapes and forms of the building, the way it rises up towards the sky.