Ingang van de tunnels van Fort Peck Dam, Montana, Verenigde Staten 1936

This is a photograph by Wouter Cool, of the entrance to the tunnels of Fort Peck Dam in Montana. It's a black and white photograph, which lends itself to the serious industrial subject matter and is presented on a backing sheet. The sheet has some simple geometric lines which frame the image - which I find interesting. What strikes me about this photograph is the way that the light and shadow create a sort of starkness. Cool really captures the raw, almost brutal feel of the dam's construction, it's not pretty but it has a gritty honesty. There is something about the way the scaffolding and supports are depicted which makes me think of Piranesi's etchings of imaginary prisons – both artists tap into that slightly terrifying sublime. It reminds us of how art, like life, is often about building something, even if it’s just an idea. Like artmaking itself, construction is a process that is as much about the doing as it is about the final product.