Portret van Bertram Dickson op het vliegtuig van Henri Farman before 1930

This photograph was taken by an unknown artist, of Bertram Dickson in Henri Farman's airplane, in 1910. It's all grays and blacks, like a memory struggling to stay in focus. The photo captures Dickson seated, the aircraft around him resembling a bird cage. There are so many struts, wires, and pieces of machinery. The textures in this image are so varied, from the smooth metal of the engine to the rough fabric of the wings. It’s a symphony of surfaces, unified by this overall tonality. I notice the way the light catches on Dickson's face. It's the focal point, drawing our eye. I think about the person behind the camera. What were they thinking? What did they want to show us? This image reminds me a little of the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher, who photographed industrial structures. Though the Becher’s pieces are much later, they have a similar approach to subject matter and grayscale tones. I suppose the process of looking is like an ongoing conversation. We see echoes of the past in the present, and imagine new possibilities for the future.