Tussenlanding in Constantinopel 1924

Curator: What a striking image. This is "Tussenlanding in Constantinopel," a photograph taken in 1924. The name of the photographer remains anonymous, so all we know for certain is it captures a slice of life from that moment. Editor: Immediately, I see celebration and daring. Everyone is smoking cigarettes and looking directly into the camera. There is so much hope in this historical moment; everyone believes in progress. And the person holding the bouquet seems to carry the biggest risk and seems relieved! I am curious to know the meaning behind the smoke? Curator: Considering it's called "Landing in Constantinople," I see a convergence of worlds. You've got the thrill of aviation symbolized by that individual, blending with the city and its culture. Smoke, for much of human history, has been an offering, an elevating ritual; maybe these figures lighting their cigarettes after that first flight is to be taken as a symbolic blessing for both man and machine. Editor: So it marks not only the thrill but a monumental union? The people puffing are like a band of mythical characters; the smoke reminds me of a call for progress during that period between the end of Ottoman empire and the Republic. The photographer has been able to condense so much historical symbolism with these faces in front of the plane. Curator: Indeed. Photography had this magical aura back then: a way of stopping time, and a kind of mystical power to materialize memories and to immortalize figures. Here, it captures something of the awe and the almost sci-fi wonder people had about this modern technology that transformed human experience. This plane, these figures are meant to be documented for an entire culture in need of new heroes. Editor: As technology marches on, these archival images teach us how technology intertwines with us; after all, the smoking hero will become old memories for our futuristic children, while their children will keep thinking about the smoke. Now I'm off to enjoy some fresh air myself and to enjoy life in new heroic times. Curator: And maybe spark new visions, grounded or airborne! It shows how a simple slice of captured light may come back to enchant generations through its layered memory.