Opleiding in Bocklemünd 1939

This is 'Opleiding in Bocklemünd', a photograph of a training camp by an anonymous artist. It’s the casual arrangement of the three pictures that grabs me: two shirtless men on a park bench; a group of people playing football, and a lone figure kicking a ball across a field. The tonal range is narrow, and each composition is equally weighted, presented without hierarchy. There’s a rawness, a stripped-down aesthetic, much like the work of Lisette Model, or the deadpan photography of Bernd and Hilla Becher, and it presents an unvarnished portrayal of everyday life during wartime. The slightly out-of-focus quality adds to the effect, creating a sense of immediacy. I feel like I’m eavesdropping on something personal, a hidden story. And it’s this ambiguity, this refusal to be pinned down, that keeps me coming back.