Shanghai installation before 1908

Curator: This intriguing photographic print, titled "Shanghai Installation," is part of Geldolph Adriaan Kessler’s collection here at the Rijksmuseum, dating to before 1908. Editor: My first impression is one of industry and perhaps transience. The slatted floor, the open structure...it feels like a moment caught in the middle of some significant work being done. Curator: Indeed. Let's consider the image's components. The central focus appears to be workers handling a series of objects—possibly ice blocks—under a large open-sided structure. What do these elements evoke for you? Editor: Immediately, I see a powerful symbol of modernity juxtaposed with a necessity of older times—ice as a means of preservation, which becomes quite poignant if we link this to a rapidly changing urban center like Shanghai at the turn of the century. The smoke stacks visible in the background reinforce this, as symbols of modernization transforming China's material culture. Curator: I’m drawn to the stark contrast between the rigid geometry of the wooden beams and the softer, organic shapes of the workers. It brings to the fore questions of labor and its organization within this emerging industrial context. The repetition of the ice blocks also highlights mass production and the developing infrastructure. Editor: Agreed, but what is equally striking to me is the stoic representation of the figures themselves. Notice how little we see of their faces. Instead, we are left to interpret the meaning and experience via symbols: of labor, production, progress...The symbolism here transcends simple portraiture; it embodies the broader themes of Chinese cultural assimilation with modern Western economic influences. Curator: It's fascinating how a simple photograph can unravel layers of material reality and historical context. Consider the limitations of early photography; the long exposure times would necessitate subjects holding still, but the composition chosen elevates these ordinary tasks to almost staged moments, telling complex tales of industry, labor, and urbanization. Editor: Exactly. And to me, the photograph operates almost like a visual poem, capturing those nuances of Shanghai's transformation at the time through its striking visual symbolism. The convergence of tradition and the onslaught of modernity depicted is a poignant, thoughtful study on its people as a modern world power.