Kraam met eten op straat c. 1930 - 1940

Editor: This photograph, taken by Adeline Andrea du Celliee Muller around 1930 to 1940, is called "Kraam met eten op straat," or "Food Stall on the Street." It's a rather simple black and white photograph, yet there's something very intimate about this captured moment. What catches your eye when you look at it? Curator: My immediate response is to consider its social and cultural context. Street photography, especially during this period, served as a powerful tool for documenting everyday life. Images like this offer invaluable insights into the lived experiences of ordinary people and urban landscapes that might otherwise go unnoticed in official historical narratives. Does the stall give you a sense of being from any specific culture? Editor: Perhaps some type of South Asian or Indonesian street food, based on what I can gather from the image’s background and composition, although the vendor seems to be a chinese Indonesian, selling indonesian streetfood, interesting contrast. So, the choice of subject seems inherently political? Curator: Absolutely. Genre painting is, I should say, political because photography doesn't just depict reality, it interprets it. The artist chooses to frame this particular scene, to grant significance to this vendor and his customer. It is a study on daily rituals. These street scenes highlight class dynamics and socio-economic conditions rarely deemed worthy of artistic attention by the high-art institutions of the time. Editor: I see, so it’s not only a scene of daily life but a commentary through artistic choices. Thank you, I am understanding so much more. Curator: Indeed. These photographs, presented within the controlled spaces of galleries or museums, spark conversations about representation and historical power. It shows an Indonesian daily life in all of its diversity.