Brug Possibly 1922 - 1928

Curator: Well, here we have "Brug," which translates to "Bridge," an intriguing gelatin silver print currently residing at the Rijksmuseum. The image is believed to have been captured sometime between 1922 and 1928. The identity of the photographer is, unfortunately, lost to time. What’s your immediate take? Editor: My immediate sense? Industrial gothic. It’s beautiful, bleak, and the scale is unsettling. The relentless geometry of those rivets… they create an almost oppressive feeling, don't you think? As if this bridge is less about connection and more about raw power and monumentality. Curator: Absolutely. The repetitive geometry does speak of an unyielding industrial process, but think about the cultural memory that bridges hold. They represent progress, movement, and connecting communities. Editor: Yes, that's undeniably true. The bridge as a potent symbol of transition and overcoming obstacles. But here, that symbol feels…heavier, weighed down, almost threatening. Look at how the dark, cavernous space dwarfs everything. There's something almost Piranesian about it. Curator: It’s in keeping with realism. Let’s not forget the context of the time – a post-war world rebuilding, reaching skyward through engineering. Consider the symbolic weight of this bridge. Is it an object, or is it about connecting people? The bridge as metaphor for overcoming differences... but constructed through hard work and industry? Editor: It feels like a loaded image, both literally with its materials and symbolically. But looking closely, the almost photographic nature of the print. I imagine, the artist carefully choosing their point of view. Was it all in post-production? So many questions swirl when I confront the image. Curator: This photograph offers us much to contemplate about that period in history, that period for art, technology, labor and industry. It reflects the ethos of a time focused on engineering as a solution. Editor: Leaving me to reflect upon both its promise and its inherent anxieties… perhaps not so different from our own relationship to progress today. A stark visual reminder that every bridge built carries more than just traffic.