Isabel Wachenheimer voor het apenverblijf in de dierentuin, juni-augustus 1933, Hamburg Possibly 1933 - 1937

Editor: Here we have a gelatin-silver print titled "Isabel Wachenheimer for the monkey enclosure in the zoo, June-August 1933, Hamburg," possibly from between 1933 and 1937, attributed to the Wachenheimer family. There's a poignancy in seeing a child viewing primates behind wire mesh. As an artwork, what do you focus on? Curator: Formally, the geometry created by the wire mesh dominates the composition, imposing a rigid structure upon the ostensibly "natural" scene. Note how the tonal range, constrained to grayscale, emphasizes the textural contrasts between the soft hat and the sharp lines. What sense of order does that convey? Editor: Perhaps that of controlled observation, where boundaries contain the chaos. Do the lines mean the child and the monkey are separated? Curator: Indeed. Observe the carefully balanced interplay of light and shadow. The framing imposed by the photograph’s edge itself mirrors the enclosure. Note also that our only clues about any of the subject(s) is through visual and tactile interpretation. Editor: The boundaries are everywhere! What do we know from just looking? What do you mean by "tactile interpretation"? Curator: From looking, it's primarily lines! From the position of the arm to the construction of the mesh. For a photograph from the 1930's this all strikes me as quite "modern." Tactile: From a formal point of view we need to see a person in terms of formal masses. One almost wants to "touch" the artwork in one's mind. Editor: It is as if one mass watches the other, from different worlds, though in the same composition. It makes me look closely to connect the concepts and shapes. Thanks! Curator: Indeed, a detailed inspection can be far more than a first impression.