Zes foto's van Willy Onnen, Winny Uhlenbeck en andere vrienden en de HBS van Hilversum Possibly 1911 - 1915

This is a page of photographs, by Carolina Frederika Onnen, created sometime around 1911. What I love about a piece like this is the layering of time. You get the sense of a moment captured, but also of a life lived and remembered. The sepia tones of the photographs give everything a soft, dreamlike quality. They’re pasted onto a heavier grey paper which feels almost like a painting surface. You can see the handwritten notes which add to the sense of intimacy. It reminds me that art doesn’t have to be about grand gestures. It can be about collecting and curating small moments, making something precious out of the everyday. Look at the bottom right photo, for instance. It looks like a young couple, sitting in the grass. There is a tenderness to their pose, and the way they’re framed against the dark trees. This arrangement tells you something about the world these people inhabited. It recalls the work of artists like Gerhard Richter who also use photography to explore memory and history, but in a much more personal way. It shows how art is often about finding beauty in the overlooked details of life.