Gezicht op een toren te Nistelrode 1890 - 1920

This photograph of a tower in Nistelrode was made using an early photographic process to document the monument. The sepia tone is so evocative, like a memory fading into the past. It is an image of a building, but also a study in the act of seeing, the way light and shadow play on the rough texture of the brick. I am interested in the way the anonymous photographer has emphasized the tower's materiality. You can almost feel the grit of the bricks, the weight of the stone, the dust that's accumulated over years. I love the chipped corners, the way the surface has been eroded by time, like a conversation between the elements and the man-made structure. Look closely at the top right, where the corner has almost completely crumbled away and the sky is now visible through the ruined structure. It's so gestural. This image reminds me of the Bechers’ photographic typologies of industrial buildings, but without the serial, objective quality. In this photo there's a sense of the photographer’s subjective encounter with the tower, like they're trying to capture its soul.