Groep mannen op de baan van de Amsterdamse IJsclub 1891

Curator: Ah, the solemnity! Looking at this gathering of faces in "Groep mannen op de baan van de Amsterdamse IJsclub," taken in 1891, I feel a sense of almost mournful civic duty. It’s by Sigmund Löw. Editor: Duty is an interesting word to use; it's an excellent summary, yes, because look at them, standing together on what must be the ice, dressed to the nines. But mournful? That monochrome washes away the rosy tint. Tell me, is that really ice under their feet, I wonder? And did they spend all day making a rink? Curator: Well, imagine it! Gelatin silver prints… the chill in the air, translating to this silvery chill of the photo itself. I find myself transported. A moment held still from all that frenetic winter activity of old Amsterdam. Editor: Gelatin silver prints! Made by industrial factories no less. A group activity memorialised through mechanical reproduction and mass consumption... You’re right, though. It feels a bit like a class portrait to me. A bit static and very, very self-conscious. Were they even enjoying themselves? And they must have had to hold those stern poses for a long while…! Curator: Yes! The technology itself imposes a certain… gravity. And there is real care taken with their presentation. You can sense the collective desire to project respectability and civic pride in even this casual tableau. Editor: Indeed, respectability. Let’s talk about the fashion because it tells a social history by its materials: you can read social class just in how their hats were felted, their coats and whether the materials they used were indeed waterproof… and who did what labour to turn wool or beaver felt into that finished bowler. How interesting the materials really tell their tale, don’t you agree? Curator: It all comes together. We are looking into a frozen, vanished moment, crafted with such deliberateness… The cold, captured by chemistry. I almost feel… empathy. Editor: Captured indeed. Next to the daily labour of being and looking like those people, Sigmund Löw and that technology had rather an easier job, don’t you think? I think maybe he lucked out on a truly fantastic accident in a factory batch… still, food for thought about work that really made that picture possible in more ways than one.