Pagina 118 van fotoboek van de Algemeene Vereeniging van Rubberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatra (A.V.R.O.S.) c. 1924 - 1925

This is J.W. Meyster's photograph 'Pagina 118 van fotoboek van de Algemeene Vereeniging van Rubberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatra' and it looks like it's from a book. It shows an industrial interior with these huge machines. What strikes me most is how the photograph flattens space. Look closely at the surfaces. The tones are so close, it's almost like a rubbing, where everything is brought to the same plane. This makes me think about how photography, like painting, is always about choices in what to emphasize and what to leave out. It's a kind of translation. The way the light filters through the corrugated iron roof reminds me a bit of Bernd and Hilla Becher's photographs of industrial structures. There's a similar interest in documenting these functional, almost sculptural forms. But where the Bechers are cool and detached, Meyster's image has a warmer, more human feel, maybe because of the figure standing by the machine. This photograph is a reminder that art, in any form, is an ongoing dialogue.