Accession Number
2016/2.428

Title
Building the Komsomolskaya Blast Furnace, Zhdanov City

Artist(s)
Dmitri Baltermants

Artist Nationality
Russian (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
circa 1939-1990, printed 2003

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
16 in x 20 in (40.64 cm x 50.8 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Thomas Wilson '79 and Jill Garling '80

Subject matter
In this photograph, three men gather around a set of unfurled papers—likely discussing building plans for the new blast furnace which will soon form part of the Zhdanov City ironworks. These men are, however, not the ostensible subject of the photograph. Instead, the image focuses on the numerous crisscrossing girders, masts, and booms of the cranes which are the main indication of the large-scale construction project underway. The image veritably thematizes the state-organized nature of industry in the Soviet Union in the middle decades of the twentieth century. 

Physical Description
Photograph of a construction site with numerous cranes, silos, and smokestacks. Three men confer in the lower right.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Primary Object Type
black and white print

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
construction sites
factories (organizations)
industrial sites
tower cranes