Timmerwerkplaats op de Prinses Juliana School 1933

This photograph, "Timmerwerkplaats op de Prinses Juliana School", captures a woodworking class, and who knows when it was taken or who took it, but the image itself is a study in textures, from the smooth surfaces of the wood to the rougher clothing of the students. I find myself drawn to the repetitive forms of the workbenches, each one a stage for a different act of creation. The light, streaming in from the large windows, creates a sort of grid, and it illuminates the students as they're busy with their hands. There's something very grounding about that grid, you know? It reminds me that everything we make has a structure underneath it. And the thing is, this photograph, with its muted tones and the tactile quality of the subject matter, it has an almost sculptural feel. It reminds me of the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher, those German photographers who documented industrial structures. Like them, this image celebrates the beauty of labor, it is a quiet celebration of craft and learning.