Gezicht op een sawah 1900 - 1935

This is a stereo image of a rice paddy, or ‘sawah’ made by Neville Keasberry in Java. It’s a photograph, but you could almost imagine it as a painting, right? I wonder what it was like for Keasberry to stand there, observing this scene. To find the right angle, to capture the light just so. The image is black and white, so you have to imagine the vibrant greens of the rice plants and the shimmering reflections on the water's surface. The straight lines of the paddy fields create a sense of order and control. It is almost like a minimalist grid painting, but the soft focus and atmospheric perspective give it a dreamlike quality. It's a reminder that artists are always looking, always responding to the world around them, whether they're using paint, a camera, or any other tool. There is a painterly tradition for landscape, and that's what the artist is taking part in here. Each artist adds something new to the conversation, and it’s so interesting to see how these different visions build upon each other over time.