Braatdroger voor de theefabriek Kertamanah Possibly 1936 - 1939

This photograph, "Braatdroger voor de theefabriek Kertamanah," is by an anonymous artist and is held at the Rijksmuseum. Imagine the factory floor, the sharp smell of industry, and the dull hum of machinery—now, look at this behemoth, a tea-drying machine. I can almost feel the artist’s hand on the camera, framing this industrial beast. Was this a commissioned shot? Or a personal fascination with the geometric forms of the factory? It makes you wonder about their mindset as they looked at this machine. Were they thinking about the elegance of its design, the efficiency of its function, or the labor it represents? The monochromatic tones lend a timeless quality, like a memory half-recalled. I imagine other artists, maybe a Sheeler or a Demuth, seeing the same beauty in industrial forms, each interpreting the world through their own lens. Artists are always building on each other's visions, aren't they? A constant dialogue across time.