Snijden en oogsten van padie in een groot veld 1913 - 1923

Atelier Kurkdjian made this image called 'Cutting and harvesting of rice in a large field' using photographic processes, in a time before colour film. The tones are grey and brown, light and dark, all mixed together to create a view into a field filled with figures at work. Look at the marks created by the long grasses; they bend in the wind, creating diagonal lines. I think of it like mark making, a series of individual strokes coming together to describe the real. In the bottom left of the image, there’s a dark mass with the faint suggestion of a human outline. It's like a shadow, a void from which the rest of the image emerges. The density and depth of tone here is like a counterpoint to the rest of the field. It brings a sense of gravity, of being grounded, reminding us of the earth from which everything else springs. You could compare this to the work of someone like Helen Levitt, who also worked in monochrome, capturing everyday scenes and using tonal contrast to draw the viewer in. In both cases, ambiguity invites a deeper engagement.