Religious Immersion

April 7, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts Leave a comment

Controversy is a word that springs to mind when looking at the photographs of Andres Serrano. The American photographer became notorious through his photos of corpses and his use of faeces and bodily fluids in his work. One of the very controversial photographs was that of a crucifix submerged in a liquid. The liquid was his own urine. This in 1987 created artwork he called “Immersion (Piss Christ)”.

For Serrano this artwork was a statement on the misuse of religion. He defended his photograph as a criticism of the “Billion-dollar-Christ-for-profit industry” and a “condemnation of those who abuse the teachings of Christ for their own ignoble ends”.

On several occasions the photograph was vandalized. A print of the photograph was damaged using a screwdriver or ice-pick on April 17, 2011 while on exhibit in Avignon, France. Before that a print was also vandalized in Australia. And in Sweden, neo-Nazis took it upon themselves to ransack the art work.

If by definition art has to communicate some form of emotion, Serrano sure managed to do so.

A Dutch Master

April 5, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts Leave a comment

Inspired by the works of old Dutch Masters and the Italian Renaissance, Hendrik Kerstens‘ photography shows an interesting series of his daughter Paula. Important moments in her life were captured by the crisp sharp image-making of Hendrik Kerstens. The techniques he uses bears a great resemblance to the old Dutch masters.

By the use of photography, the new master gives us a mix of the greatness of the paintings from Johannes Vermeer and the likes, and the modern interpretation of this art form. By using classical poses and techniques combined with modern objects the photos send out an appropriation of the Dutch golden age of painting and the rising acknowledgment in art photography.

Sunday Vid – Manufactured Landscapes

April 1, 2012 marceleverts Leave a comment

Junk Development

March 30, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts Leave a comment

To develop an image one can use different techniques. Especially when photographing analog. And usually the end result is presented on paper. But Brazilian artist Vicente Jose de Oliveria Muniz, also known as Vik Muniz, takes a different approach. In his series “Pictures of Garbage” he uses, well its in the name, garbage.

In this series he is portraying the garbage pickers of Jardim Gramacho, a 321-acre open-air dump just outside Rio that is one of the largest landfills in Latin America. In the wonderful documentary “Waste Land” we follow him during this project. In it we see the lives of the portrayed garbage pickers. We see what it means to have a job at such a landfill. We see how proud people are for the work that they do. And Vik Muniz brings it all together in those wonderful portraits. The story, the people and the proudness. Luckily for us, Vic did also developed the portraits on paper. It makes the exposure for this project some what easier.

Windows

March 29, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts 2 Comments

German photographer Michael Wolf shows us people and windows in his series Transparent City. He came upon the idea to shoot close-ups of people in a window when he was flipped off by a person in another series he made. Inspired by Edward Hopper’s work, he finds it interesting to combine the voyeuristic nature plus the architectural details in this subject.

When I look at the pictures it gives a strange feeling of doing something wrong. Spying in on somebody who has absolutely no clue of your presence. But it is also an interesting look into office spaces of different floors in a building. Small worlds so close to each other, yet are so far away. The feeling I always get when I walk around in a major city, all so close, yet so far away.

Minds of our own

March 27, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts Leave a comment

We all know the feeling. Walking down the street, or driving the car, the same route every day. During such times the mind can wander off. And sometimes you snap out of this daydream and realize you can’t remember the last couple of minutes of driving.

The series “Heads” of American photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia shows us that moment in time, when our minds wander off. Dreaming about that winning lottery ticket. Or quitting your job. Maybe just about nothing at all. Just a brief escape into your own world. But also in his older works we can feel that sense of wander. It leaves us, the viewer, clueless of what is happening. The story of what we see is the story what we want to see. A same cluelessness what we get when looking at the work of photographer Gregory Crewdson and painter Edward Hopper.

Classical aesthetics with contemporary expressions

March 26, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts Leave a comment

The experiences Dutchmen Krijn van Noordwijk gained in his previous life as a creative and art directer really transfers seemlesly into his photography. He is able to turn a blank slate into a visually and creative portrait with regards of the person in question. His photography focusses on the person. With funny, quirky and sometimes just simple gestures of the subject, Krijn is able to create visually inspiring portraits. On his Linkedin profile he talks about who inspires him. Among the long list of truly great persons, Donald Duck is not forgotten, are Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer. The way Krijn uses light does remind me of paintings made by the mentioned Dutch Masters.

Large format view

March 24, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts Leave a comment

Dutch photographer Frank van der Salm documents the control of landscape, the lack of space, the infrastructural issues and the characteristics of the pressure on time and space in contemporary urban metropolises around the world. As he puts it on his website.

The large format photographs gives us a different look into the architectural urban worlds many people find themselves in now a days. The lack of people, the repetition of forms and shapes really brings about an abstract sense of the cityscapes from around the world. We seem to live our lives in a copy of a copy of a copy. Research estimates that in the year 2050, 70% of mankind will be living in cities. The works of Frank van der Salm show the efficiency in the usage of that seemingly limited space we all want to be in.

Visual Poetry

March 21, 2012February 4, 2013 marceleverts Leave a comment

Spanish photographer Chema Madoz is a true visual poet. He is able to melt ordinary objects together into something very unique. He teaches us something about looking. He does this as no other.

The minimalistic way of presenting us this surreal reality is just marvelous. By only showing what is needed, and by doing so in black and white, he plays with our visual senses.