Steam
& Sunshine
The onset of the Depression in the Thirties
saw business slow down in Cazneauxs studio. Then in 1934-35, Cazneaux
received one of his most interesting and challenging commissions. BHP wanted
him to photograph their steelworks at Newcastle, New South Wales and Whyalla,
South Australia. Photographing the human figure against an industrial landscape
was not new to Cazneaux. His photograph Knock Off Time (1925) is a
thoughtful interpretation of man and machine.
With this BHP commission, Cazneaux was
relishing the prospect of photographing the ever-present smoke and steam to
great effect. He was sorely disappointed:
- "They had the vast area of the Newcastle
steelworks cleared out from top to bottom. The whole works were then ready to
be taken
it was certainly spick and span
but much of the element
I had hoped for had vanished".
-
- Harold Cazneaux, letter to Jack Cato,
9 March 1951
NLA MS 5416
Undaunted Cazneaux "made do" and the results
are striking. They were precursors to a modernist style that was soon to
overshadow pictorial photography with their bold composition yet delicate tonal
qualities.
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Knock
Off Time aka Knocking Off 1925 Abermain & Seaham Coals,
Cessnock, NSW. Chloro-bromide 39 x 29.3 (NLA Accession #
C14-2) nla.pic-an2381183 |
Pouring
Steel, NSW 1934 BHP Newcastle. Chloro-bromide 35 x 27.8 (NLA
Accession # C14-9) nla.pic-an2381200 |
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Whyalla,
South Australia aka A Mountain of Iron 1935. Bromoil
33.5 x 26.5 (NLA Accession # C14-4) nla.pic-an2231642-1 |
Newcastle Steel Works 1934 BHP NSW. Bromoil 18.8
x 19.9 (NLA Accession # C14-6) nla.pic-an2381195 |
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Toil
1935 Port Pirie, SA. Bromoil 28.8 x 33.5 (NLA Accession #
C29-9) nla.pic-an2384492-2 |
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