Drie foto's van de verjaardagspartij van Lilly Mohr Possibly 1909

These three photographs of Lilly Mohr’s birthday party were put together into an album by Carolina (Loentje) Frederika Onnen, though we don’t know exactly when. What I love about these images is the way they hold a moment, or rather, several moments, of time. There’s the gathering of people, the picnic table set up for a party… and the children! I can imagine the artist behind the camera, trying to capture the joy of a birthday, or trying to capture the excitement of a group of children. These aren’t perfectly posed shots, but you see life here—a slice of life, as it were. The scratches and blemishes on the prints are part of the images, and they almost add to the story. Think about what it means to make art from life, and how these types of artworks build on and add to the conversation across time. These photographs remind us that art is more than just what's perfect.