Exterieur van de apsis van de Kruiskerk te Pilsum c. 1875 - 1900

Editor: This photograph, taken by Johannes Gerardus Kramer between 1875 and 1900, captures the exterior of the apse of the Kruiskerk in Pilsum. It’s a gelatin-silver print. It gives me such a grounded and historical sensation; I wonder what's worth noting? Curator: The stark materiality of the brickwork, and its almost relentless geometry, demands attention. Consider the labor involved in shaping and placing each brick. How does the photographic medium itself, this specific process of gelatin-silver printing, contribute to our understanding of the subject? Is it idealizing it, or is it recording a brutal, material reality? Editor: That’s fascinating. It does make me think about the construction, and almost feel the weight of each brick and roof tile. So, what do you make of the architectural style juxtaposed with the supposed style of the piece: romanticism? Curator: “Romanticism” can be a slippery label. The impulse to document and preserve a structure like this, especially given its relative rural setting, hints at the anxieties of industrial modernity. This impulse might romanticize a past, however it's a past deeply rooted in a material reality: brick production, the availability of skilled labor, and even the economic conditions allowing for such a photograph to be commissioned and produced. How is the church embedded within the system and control of labour? Editor: I see what you mean. It challenges the typical image of Romanticism. So, by exploring the materials and the implied labor, we get a more grounded understanding. Curator: Precisely. By questioning the materials and the labour, it becomes possible to scrutinise production within the context of capitalism and to think of value critically. Editor: That perspective really opens up the conversation! I had never really considered the economic implications or labour behind a landscape photograph before. Curator: Exactly. It invites to ask, “What's really pictured in this work? The apse of the Kruiskerk te Pilsum or also the brick by brick labour invested in its construction?”.