Afscheid van Wenen 1930 - 1931

This photo album page titled 'Afscheid van Wenen' or 'Farewell to Vienna' was put together by Berti Hoppe at some point in the early 20th Century. What I love about it is the way the black and white snapshots, probably taken with a simple camera, capture a moment of transition. Look at the way the photos are arranged on the page, almost like a storyboard. The texture of the album page itself, with its slightly worn surface, gives it a tactile quality, inviting you to imagine the hands that carefully placed each photograph. You can almost hear the rustle of the pages as someone turned them, maybe reminiscing about times past. The series of images depicting the figures on the train platform, and the woman in the window, speak of departures and the excitement of new destinations. It makes you think about the possibilities inherent in every goodbye. Hoppe reminds us that art isn't just about perfection, but about embracing the imperfections and ambiguities of life.