Spanningstransformator van een electriciteitscentrale op een onbekende locatie in de Verenigde Staten 1936

Wouter Cool made this gelatin silver print of a transformer in the United States at an unknown date. Just looking at the image, I feel like Cool was wrestling with how to capture the industrial, almost alien form of this transformer. You can almost see him circling it, trying to find the right angle, the right light, to make sense of its towering presence. It reminds me of the Bechers and their typologies of industrial structures. The way the light catches the ceramic insulators gives them a strange, organic quality, like some kind of futuristic cacti. I'm curious about the process of taking this picture. Was it a quick snapshot, or did Cool spend hours waiting for the perfect moment? It’s kind of amazing, how artists, whether they’re painting or photographing, are always trying to capture something essential, something beyond the surface. I wonder, what kind of electric inspiration can we draw from it?