Zes portretten van kennissen van Herman Besselaar en Berti Hoppe, poserend bij een auto c. 1930

These six portraits, by Berti Hoppe, capture friends of Herman Besselaar posing proudly by their cars. I see here a series of photographic sketches, each framed by those sweet vintage corner tabs. The repetition of figures and the automobile creates a rhythm. You can see the artist, Hoppe, experimenting with light, angle, and how to capture these early machines and the people who loved them. I can almost see Hoppe behind the camera, carefully composing each shot, trying to get the perfect angle of the car. What was it like to be a photographer then? These friends are clearly having a blast, posing with their vehicles like they’re on a film set! It reminds me of Ed Ruscha's parking lots or those typological studies that the Bechers did of industrial structures. Each shot presents a slightly different take, revealing new facets of the same subjects. This piece is about seeing and experimenting with new ways of capturing the world.