Punaise des prés 1930

Raoul Hausmann made this photograph ‘Punaise des prés’, or ‘meadow bug’ in English, printed on paper. It looks like he’s captured some kind of seed heads, soft and pod-like, suspended on thin stalks. I wonder if Hausmann set up this shot, arranging the stems just so, or whether he found this formation of plants already growing like this? You can imagine him carefully adjusting his focus, considering how the light might catch each fuzzy head. The whole composition is subtle and sensitive, the image suspended between a scientific study and something altogether more mysterious. I find it touching, the way a photographer can find beauty in such small, unassuming things, transforming the everyday into something dreamy and strange. It reminds me that artists are always looking, always seeking, and that new ways of seeing are always possible.