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Guide to Unique Photography e 5
Cover: Johnny Depp © Morad Bouchakour
Correction
Contents
An error has occurred on page 3 of GUP #10, which we’d like to correct. The caption to this illustration should read: in almost every picture Limited Edition #1-#5 This work, as well as Useful Photography Limited Edition #001-#005, can be ordered at www.kesselskramerpublishing.com
06 New(s) All the things you weren’t aware of yet. 17 Book Review(s) A selection of individualistic international photo book publications produced by photographers, curators and collectors. 24 History The story behind Dutch photographer Koos Breukel. 28 Portfolio Koos Breukel Among Photographers by Koos Breukel. 39 Portfolio Charlotte Dumas Charlotte Dumas’ favourite painting is Delacroix’s Cheval attaqué par une lionne. Battle. Battlefields. Animals. Compelling images that find their way into her work. 49 Collectors Tip Am I really seeing what I see? Pim Milo on the work of Juul Hondius. 52 Portfolio Morad Bouchakour Morad Bouchakour has a wide diversity of publications and advertising campaigns to his name. An impression.
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62 Portfolio Hellen van Meene Hellen van Meene photographs young women, girls still, in all their vulnerability and vigour. Vacillating between maturity and childhood. 72 Portfolio Viviane Sassen In order to create new works for the Prix de Rome, the oldest (1807) Dutch art prize for artists up to age 35, Viviane Sassen travelled to Ghana. A summary of her winning work. 83 Interview Prix de Rome winner Viviane Sassen. 86 ToDo For two days, photographer Gregor Servais immersed himself in the early history of photography, a time when salt and albumen techniques were used.
Untitled (girlfriend), Ektacolor photograph Š Richard Prince
91 Portfolio Aram Tanis The Bijlmer district in Amsterdam is the setting for Aram Tanis’ Deconstruction, a series based on themes such as isolation, throngs of people and anonymity. 100 Bkmrks Get acquainted with the winner and numerous nominees of the Photo Academy Award 2007.
GUP: Guide to Unique Photography
105 Guide: upcoming photo exhibitions Europe USA/Canada Asia/Australia
BOOKREVIEW(s)
Image Makers, Image Takers Journalist and critic Anne-Celine Jaeger delves into the working practice of today’s most established photographers, unveiling the mysterious process of artistic creation involved in making and taking a photograph. Whether it is basic questions of what to look for in an image, views on cropping or the use of colour over black-and-white, the shapers and makers of taste provide a unique and indispensable account of their working methods. How does portrait photographer Rineke Dijkstra get the best out of her subject? How does The New York Times Magazine picture editor decide who’s going to shoot the next fashion spread? An Essential Guide to Photography by Those in the Know. 272 pages 22.8 cm x 17.5 cm Paperback 218 illustrations, 179 in colour Published 2007 ISBN 0500286620272 Thames & Hudson € 26.52
ama, Elephant Shy 1990 © Mary Ellen Mark ia, Singh with His Ram Prakashn Circus, Ahmedabad, Ind Great Golde
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BOOKREVIEW(s)
Bang voor Bloemkool
ristenhusz
Š Erik Ch
Reflection and caution are key concepts in Erik Christenhusz’ documentary photography. Spend time with your subject, immerse yourself in it. A case in point is his new book, Bang voor Bloemkool; Reportages uit de Nederlandse kinder- en jeugdpsychiatrie (Afraid of Cauliflower: Reports from Dutch Child and Adolescent Psychiatry), a cooperative effort with publicist Maurice van Lieshout. Research shows that psychiatric institutions for children and adolescents are too inward-focused, resulting in a rather negative image of the sector. Combining his work as a social worker in psychiatric care with photography, Christenhusz uses powerful black-and-white images to illustrate the diversity of child and adolescent psychiatry in the Netherlands and to create sympathy. About 300 pages Published around November 2007 De Tijdstroom, Utrecht
GUP: Guide to Unique Photography
History
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Text: Han Schoonhoven
Koos Breukel © Ringel Goslinga
At first glance one might describe the works of Koos Breukel as ‘classical’, even ‘old-fashioned’. Almost everything looks ‘classic’ in his photography: the genre he chooses to work in, portrait photography; his cameras, ranging from old-fashioned to very old-fashioned; and the traditional way in which his beautiful prints are produced. Only his subject – contemporary people – is modern. Or, better yet, timeless, because Koos Breukel (The Hague, 1962) is one of those rare photographers who knows how to capture a subject’s authentic state of mind.
GUP: Guide to Unique Photography
Portfolio Koos Breukel
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Annaleen Louwes, Amsterdam, 1999 Š Koos Breukel
Portfolio Koos Breukel
Ed van der Elsken, Edam, 1990 Š Koos Breukel
Untitled, from the series Day is done, 2004 Š Charlotte Dumas, courtesy Galerie Paul Andriesse, Amsterdam
Portfolio Charlotte Dumas
Untitled, from the series Reverie, 2005 Š Charlotte Dumas, courtesy Galerie Paul Andriesse, Amsterdam
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Untitled, from the series Reverie, 2005 Š Charlotte Dumas, courtesy Galerie Paul Andriesse, Amsterdam
Portfolio Morad Bouchakour
The Works His first camera was the very first Canon autofocus, which he bought with a student grant overpayment. A blunder by the government. At the University of Amsterdam, Morad Bouchakour (Brussels, 1965) switched from economics to art history – the study that really awakened his love for photography and blossomed when he lived in New York and found a job assisting Dutch photographer Dana Lixenberg. She taught him the ropes of portrait and documentary photography, disciplines which he applied in commissions for commercial clients as well as his independent work. He shot prize-winning photos (awarded with the bronze Clio Award) for an international Adidas advertising campaign, won a Golden Effie for a Danone commercial, but he also captured Holland’s party culture in minute detail (Party! In the Netherlands) in an assignment commissioned by the Rijksmuseum. An impression of Morad’s work from recent years. (JR) www.moradphoto.com www.inn-site.com All images © Morad Bouchakour
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Fatty
Portfolio Morad Bouchakour
Tanzania
A—A
Tanzania
Portfolio Hellen van Meene
© Hellen van Meene, courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London & Yancey Richardson gallery, New York
young at heart Hellen van Meene (1972, Alkmaar) focuses her photographic skills on girls in the transition from childhood to maturity. Hellen’s photos portray future adolescents who are both self-confident and insecure in front of the camera. The photos grab the viewer’s attention. One picture shows several faces. Moreover, light, clothing, poses and setting contribute to the atmosphere and high quality of Hellen van Meene’s photos. (PB) www.hellenvanmeene.com
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Portfolio Hellen van Meene
Portfolio Viviane Sassen
staging
of the
everyday In order to create new works for the Prix de Rome, the oldest (since 1807) Dutch art prize for artists up to age 35, Viviane Sassen (1972, Amsterdam) travelled to Ghana in early March for a five-week stay in that country. In her series of portraits, Sassen creates a closeness to her subject, but at the same manages to maintain a certain distance. A light, contemplative form originating from her staging of everyday situations. Human images depicting this African country in her particular way, which subtly transcend the usual cultural clichĂŠs. (JR) www.vivianesassen.com
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GUP: Guide to Unique Photography
Portfolio Viviane Sassen
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ToDo
Text & images: Gregor Servais
Forgotten techniques Salt prints Were the earliest positive prints, invented by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1840. A salt print was made by soaking a sheet of paper in salt solution and then coating one side with silver nitrate. This produced light sensitive silver chloride in the paper. After drying, the paper was put directly beneath a negative, under a sheet of glass, and exposed to sunlight for up to two hours.
Albumen Prints Were invented in 1850. It produced a clearer image than the salted paper print. It was made by coating paper with a layer of egg white and salt to create a smooth surface. Then coated with a layer of silver nitrate. The salt and silver nitrate combined to form light sensitive silver salts. This double coated paper could then be placed in contact with a negative and exposed to the sun to produce a print. (Source: V&A Museum)
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Following his earlier disillusionment with Fotospeed, photographer Gregor Servais mustered all his courage to try his luck at another workshop. For two days, he immersed himself in photography’s distant past, a time when salt and albumen techniques were used.
China soccer, Salt print
Next issue Amsterdam November 11
Concept & Design: www.hoofdbureau.com
Call Fons Fonteijn ( +31 (0)20 515 85 85 ) for pure advertising
Portfolio Aram Tanis
All images Š Aram Tanis
Deconstruction De Bijlmer was planned in the mid-sixties as a modern suburb in the south-east of Amsterdam. It was meant to be an ideal housing alternative for the old city districts, with lots of green, separated opposing lanes of traffic and spacious apartments. However, the fairy tale was not to be. As it turned out, the high-rises were no match for the houses with gardens on the outskirts of Amsterdam. De Bijlmer soon became synonymous with unoccupied housing, crime and drug-related problems. Aram Tanis (Seoul, 1978) sets his Deconstruction
GUP: Guide to Unique Photography
series in the Amsterdam Bijlmer, treating themes such as isolation, throngs of people and anonymity. Deconstruction shows the torso of an overweight woman in static positions, alternated with images of a block of flats shaped like a honeycomb. She seems trapped in it, lonely and forlorn. Escaping this anonymity is futile. Tanis thus analyzes our urge to produce everything on a large and massive scale. And, more importantly, he questions the influence this has on our society. (JR) www.aramtanis.nl
Portfolio Aram Tanis
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GUP: Guide to Unique Photography
BKMRKS
Photo Academy Award 2007 What’s on? The Photo Academy Award, an initiative of the Fotoacademie, received a record number of entries this year. Sixty-one photographers, from a variety of Flemish and Dutch academies, submitted 600 of their best works, which were anonymously presented to a jury consisting of photographers, photo editors, art directors and curators. Meet some nominees including the winner of the Award 2007. www.photoacademyaward.nl
Lucia Ganieva ‘The Sunset of Fame is an ode to Russian stars from the past. A combination of personal life narratives and the history of Russia.’ www.luciaganieva.com
Arjen Haantjes ‘I want to stimulate viewers to think, make their own interpretations and associations. About who and what we are. And why we act the way we do.’ www.arjenhaantjes.nl
Franky Verdickt ‘In Fantasma, the heroes are people from the non-existent republic of Transdniestria, in which a collective society believes in a utopian project.’ www.frankyverdickt.be
Emy Elleboog ‘I am offering you an aesthetic window that will allow you to get involved in the subject and become more interested in it.’
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Hans Peter Föllmi ‘I make my observations abstract and minimalistic in order to reduce the image to its bare essence with as much integrity as possible.’ www.ic4u.org
Marjolein van Veen ‘To get a hold on life, discover the complexity of situations and emotions. My tale of mystery and suspense.’ www.marjoleinvanveen.com
Inkie Struyk ‘The audience has to have a chance to see not only the outside but also the inside of a subject. In this case, Turkish mosques in the Netherlands.’ www.inkiestruyk.nl
Maayan Ben Gal ‘The kitsch, plastic rooms in Dollhouse represent the superficial way of approaching and dealing with different matters in our western society. Especially when it concerns the stereotyping of women.’ www.maayanbengal.com
Joris ten Bosch ‘My picture has to have a presence that is scaled down to the essence, one that draws in the viewer. A concentrated picture that gnaws on your mind.’ www.joristenbosch.nl
Adrian Noortman ‘Inquisitiveness to the behaviour and the living conditions of other people is my most important motivation.’ www.adriannoortman.nl
GUP: Guide to Unique Photography
© Hans Eijkelboom
Among Photographers Koos Breukel - Sep 30 Throughout his career, Koos Breukel has produced portraits of fellow photographers, in recognition of them as kindred spirits, sources of inspiration or friends. Breukel is currently exhibiting a selection of 55 portraits, each paired with a single work from the oeuvre of the photographer in question. This exhibition includes works about and by Richard Avedon, Paul Blanca, Rineke Dijkstra, Ed van der Elsken, Gerard Fieret, Robert Frank, Inez van Lamsweerde, Hellen van Meene, Daido Moriyama and the Starn Twins.
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© Koos Breukel, courtesy Fotomuseum Den Haag
By Jochem Rijlaarsdam / Peter Bas Mensink
GUP Guide
Paris - New York - Shanghai Hans Eijkelboom - Oct 21 Hans Eijkelboom creates visual notes in cities that enjoyed periods as a centre of change and renewal: Paris in the nineteenth century, New York in the twentieth century and Shanghai today. His working method is a combination of documentary photography, conceptual art and anthropology. In Eijkelboom’s words: ‘I photograph as inconspicuously as possible. The clothes I wear when I work allow me to blend in with the crowds.’
FOAM Keizersgracht 609 1017 DS Amsterdam The Netherlands T: +31 20 551 65 00 www.foam.nl
Worldview Leonard Freed Oct 6 - Jan 13 2008 This is the most comprehensive exhibition of the work of Leonard Freed (1929-2006) ever staged. A committed photographer preoccupied with themes such as war, revolution, misery and poverty, he also focused on everyday issues, such as friendship, love and the mystery of birth and death. Freed published more than a thousand photos in numerous major international magazines and newspapers, and many of his images have become icons of photographic history.
Museum of Photography The Hague Stadshouderslaan 43 2517 HV The Hague The Netherlands T: +31 70 338 11 44 www.fotomuseumdenhaag.nl Wall Street, New York 1956 © Leonard Freed, courtesy Fotomuseum Den Haag / Magnum Photos
Š Christien Jaspars
Tesselschadestraat 15 Amsterdam The Netherlands www.hupgallery.com Open: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 12.00 - 17.00 h. or by appointment