Karel Doorman 1945

Curator: Immediately I’m drawn to the light, almost aggressively highlighting the subject’s face, against a muted background. It has this haunted yet noble air. Editor: Yes, that’s a very striking, characterful description! We are currently looking at “Karel Doorman”, a gelatin-silver print photograph from 1945 attributed to Anefo, here at the Rijksmuseum. What catches your eye about its materiality, that old photo paper quality, and its construction as an artifact? Curator: Ah, see, that explains the feeling I get – it feels of its time, you know? There’s a certain starkness, not just in the shades but in the subject's unyielding stare, almost a feeling of bearing witness to history. What strikes me more is the sheer volume of detail and care invested in what most would now see as mass produced portraiture. Editor: Absolutely, I agree. Note the heavy ornamentation on Doorman's uniform—consider the cost of those materials and labor relative to the time. How does the work communicate the politics of status and sacrifice? I suppose it's also a question of how labor, materiality and access converge to both memorialize him and further a nationalist narrative during reconstruction. Curator: Definitely. It brings up the tension, doesn't it, between celebrating a hero and acknowledging the huge losses of war? Doorman almost looks like a figure from a Greek tragedy; I can’t help but consider that he sacrificed everything. It speaks to something larger than just this photograph. Editor: Indeed. Looking at this photograph and considering the materials involved prompts thinking about value, access, and also remembrance. And thinking through those qualities is what, in the end, allows us to understand something about ourselves and also about the world from which these items have originated. Curator: In all honesty, looking closer helps us really start seeing these photographic fragments and historical artworks from new vantage points – that means a great deal to me! I am not sure when I will be thinking so hard about heroism or sacrifice next!