S.O. Goenoengsari. Administrateurswoning. 1 Juni 1927. 1927

This photograph of S.O. Goenoengsari Administrateurswoning was taken on June 1st, 1927, by an anonymous artist. When I look at the image, I can see the tonal range of the photograph shifting like a painting. Was it a hot, sunny day? Or cloudy and overcast? I wonder what the artist was thinking, or what this place meant to them. It’s a simple building, but it feels so meaningful. It looks so much like a home, with the shade and the light dappling across the front. The artist’s composition creates a sense of depth and space, which is what all painters are trying to do! It reminds me of other photographs that depict structures and buildings, as though the artist were trying to work something out, or maybe even preserve it. I wonder what this place looks like today. The interesting thing about pictures is that you never know what the relationship is between the picture and the thing, or the person, or the place. But pictures make me think. Pictures make me feel.