July and August 2022
Is er nog ruimte voor ons oer-cultuurlandschap?
Deze zomer zie je bij MIJ ‘mens maakt landschap maakt mens’, de eerste publieke manifestatie van een langer lopend onderzoeksproject van Dennis l’Ami en Arnold Hoogerwerf. In dit onderzoeksproject nemen zij de wederkerige relatie tussen cultuurlandschap en identiteitsvorming in het Groene Hart onder de loep.
Heeft dit gebied - baken van rust in de drukke Randstad-metropool - nog wel toekomst?
Dennis en Arnold initieerden deze tentoonstelling, stelden uit regionale archieven een foto-expositie samen en maakten daarnaast ook nog eigen werk. Hier zie je een still uit hun video-installatie ‘mens maakt landschap maakt mens’ (2022).
‘mens maakt landschap maakt mens’ Een veelheid aan perspectieven op het landschap en de mens binnen het Groene Hart.
Werk en Video, ± 15 min (loop), met medewerking van @polakvanbekkum_new #wumenghua en @nielsstomps
Due to the persistent drought, ground and surface water is becoming salinized. The rise in temperature and subsidence result in a different composition of nature and crops. Agriculture should adapt quickly to this. Water pollution, caused by waste and medicine residues, is also a bigger growing problem in and around cities, rivers, lakes and coastal areas. How are these radical changes visible? What influence do altering aquatic conditions have on urban and peripheral urban ecology, raw materials, water and food supplies? In Waterland, a project started by Stomps in February 2021, research is being conducted into how the urban river and coastal environment are changing. A social anthropological and photographic time document unfolds with the status of now and a glimpse into the future. In collaboration with residents, a number of important stakeholders, artists, designers and scientific institutions, a growing document of time is visualized, which also provides room for historical reflection.
The first part of the artwork Body and Mind was unveiled on Tuesday afternoon at the bus station at Utrecht Central Station. In the end, various works by the team of artist Gabriel Lester will be presented on both the Jaarbeurs and Centrum sides. The idea is that this will make the bus station more colorful and lighter in the future.
Photos taken by Niels Stomps will be placed on the Center side of the bus station. Lester has asked him to make colorful group portraits of residents and travelers. This is the 'Body' section.
In addition to the images, there will also be more lighting at the stations. This highlights the works and also the places themselves get more lighting. “We turn a gray mouse into a colorful chameleon,” says the alderman.
Lester made Body and Spirit for the municipality and province of Utrecht. The entire project is expected to be completed by October this year.
10th PARATY IN FOCUS - INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY
At the tenth edition, Paraty em Foco watched not only a transformed photograph, but also the transformation of the audience. Different and larger contingents from Brazil and abroad changed the public's texture and made Paraty an international festival not only by its guests but also by its public.
From the curatorial point of view, Claudi Carreras went to her third year in front of the Festival exhibitions, completing a cycle where she experimented with
a more public photograph, occupying the city as a gallery; This was evident in the energy that the curator put in the convocation of the festival, which followed his proposal to map international photography and multimedia production, with the support of three indicators around the world - Russian researcher Liza Faktor, the Mexican collective La Hydra And Brazilian curator Eder Chiodetto. The conferences and lectures changed their address: they were presented in the Multimedia Tent; Similarly to previous editions, the program placed a greater focus on the reflection on the image and its surroundings and pointed out the complexity of the links of the various photographs present at the Festival.
On our tenth anniversary, in a country where a cultural project hardly survives for ten years, our best way to celebrate was to give to all festivals - and gatherings in general - that brought together not only thinking about photography, but There is more essential in the human being, which is the coexistence.
ENCOUNTERS AND INTERVIEWS
Under the Eclipsed Light - Rinko Kawauchi, by Rosely Nakagawa
New Naturalists - Pedro Motta + Rodrigo Braga, by Joaquim Paiva
MIST and other mists - Niels Stomps, by Giuseppe Oliverio
Figures of the Race in Brazilian Photography, by Mauricio Lissovsky
Cyber Archeology - Javier Hinojosa, by Claudi Carreras
The tension in nothingness - Sofia Borges, by Rubens Fernandes Jr.
Masao Yamamoto: Notes on a photographer, by Agnaldo Farias
Resistance - Nair Benedicto + Evandro Teixeira, by Juan Esteves and Sergio Branco
No one is from anyone - Rogério Reis, by Claudio Edinger
Based on a True Story - David Alan Harvey, by Milton Guran
Photography: Public Speaking - Alex Flemming, by Ronaldo Entler
ZOO and Microfilme - João Castilho and Letícia Ramos, by Thyago Nogueira
WORKSHOPS
Landscape in contemporary photography: the reinvention of nature, by Claudia Jaguaribe
Photography and aerial video with drones, by Javier Hinojosa and Alejandro Boneta
Illuminance - under the light eclispada, by Rinko Kawauchi
Visual Narratives in Nature, by Luciano Candisani
Nothing more normal than a naked body, by Kazuo Okubo
Author Project - Choosing a Theme, Developing Style, by Claudio Edinger
Masterclass, by David Alan Harvey
Profession: journalist, by Evandro Teixeira
The photo thought for the web, by Photographic Museum of Humanity
The ways of personal language, by Christian Rodriguez
83 days of darkness and other photobooks, by Niels Stomps
Camera and attitude - photography as an artistic discourse, by Rodrigo Braga
Masterclass, by Marcio Scavone
Work ready, now what? - ways to the art circuit, by Isabel Amado
Time Lapse, by Alejandro Boneta and Javier Hinojosa
Always portrait, by Luiz Garrido
FAAP workshop on reading projects, by Livia Aquino and Ronaldo Entler
The secret powers of photography, by Mauricio Lissovsky
Masterclass, by Agnaldo Farias
Plat(t)form 2012 | Fotomuseum Winterthur
Die Chance für emerging artists, ihre Arbeiten einem Publikum und Experten vorzustellen. Und eine ideale Plattform um junge Fotografen und Künstlerinnen zu entdecken.
Plattform für Fotografie
Am Wochenende vom 27./29. Januar 2012 fand mit der Plat(t)form 2012 das sechste kuratierte internationale Portfolio-Viewing für emerging artists aus ganz Europa statt. 42 Fotografen und Fotografinnen waren eingeladen, ihre Werke und Dossiers während je zwei Stunden der Öffentlichkeit und einem Expertenteam vorzustellen. Sie wurden aus rund 140 Eingaben ausgewählt. Es zeigten jeweils sechs Teilnehmende gleichzeitig ihre Arbeiten. Plat(t)form 2012 richtet sich an Professionals wie Kuratorinnen, Galeristen, Verleger, Redakteure und Fotografinnen. Gleichzeitig bietet es neugierigen Zeitgenossen eine hervorragende Gelegenheit, junge Künstler und Fotografinnen sowie deren Arbeiten persönlich kennen zu lernen. Pla(t)form bezeichnet sich als Schaufenster für die Zukunft der Fotografie in Europa.
Hold Still
Die meisten Leute neigen dazu, sich zu berühren, wenn ich sie darum bitte, sich einen Moment Zeit für ein Foto zu nehmen. Das lässt mich darüber nachdenken, wie gut wir uns kennen, auch uns selbst. Wir haben diese Idee davon, wie wir uns selbst sehen und doch sind wir vielleicht überrascht oder gar peinlich berührt, wenn wir sehen, wie wir auf einem Foto aussehen.
Was erlauben wir gegenseitig unseren Partner*innen, dass sie von uns sehen? Was verstecken wir lieber und worauf sind wir stolz? Auch wenn wir die anderen nicht sehen, sind sie doch da. Wir bekommen auf gewisse Art und Weise vier Augen.
Zwei Personen posieren, eine Person ist im Schatten nicht zu erkennen.Zwei Personen posieren, eine Person ist im Schatten nicht zu erkennen.
Über den Zeitraum eines Jahres habe ich mich jede Woche dazu herausgefordert, eine neue Skizze für ein Projekt zu entwerfen und sie jeden Freitag auf meiner Webseite zu veröffentlichen. Diese kleinen Projekte variieren von Portraits über Landschaften bis zu kleinen Details, die mir in meinem Alltag auffallen. Meine Inspiration kommt von vielen Dingen.
Manchmal waren die Konzepte dafür schon seit Jahren in meinem Kopf und manchmal entstanden sie durch etwas, das ich in dieser Woche sah. Da die Projekte innerhalb einer Woche fertiggestellt werden mussten und ich auch Zeit für andere Aufträge und Projekte brauchte, arbeitete ich oft eher spontan daran. Ein Konzept kann irgendwo einen Anfang haben und ein gänzlich anderes Ende nehmen.
Zwei Personen posieren, eine Person ist im Schatten nicht zu erkennen.Zwei Personen posieren, eine Person ist im Schatten nicht zu erkennen.
Die Serie „Hold Still„ entstand aus der Idee eines schönen Fehlers. Immer, wenn man mit einer Kamera mit Schlitzverschluss arbeitet, gibt es eine maximale Blitzsynchronisationszeit, mit der man einen Blitz verwenden kann. Diese Zeit steht für die Verschlusszeit, die den Sensor ganz freigibt und nicht von Teilen des Verschlussvorhangs verdeckt wird, so dass man einen Blitz benutzen kann. Wählt man eine schnellere Verschlusszeit, wird der Sensor nicht vollständig belichtet.
Der Effekt des Verschlussvorhangs, der den Sensor bedeckt, wird sichtbar, Teile des Bildes werden nur vom vorhandenen Licht ausgeleuchtet, nicht aber vom Blitz, da Teile des Sensors noch bedeckt waren, als der Blitz ausgelöst wurde. Normalerweise wird das Resultat als fehlerhaft betrachtet, ich entschied mich jedoch, die Schönheit darin zu sehen und es zu meinem Vorteil zu nutzen.
Zwei Personen posieren, eine Person ist im Schatten nicht zu erkennen.Zwei Personen posieren, eine Person ist im Schatten nicht zu erkennen.
Auf der Straße hielt ich Ausschau nach jungen Paaren und Freund*innen, die ich um ein Foto bat. Ich wollte nicht, dass das Ergebnis davon beeinflusst wird, weshalb ich ihnen nichts davon erzählte, dass nur eine Person auf dem Bild zu erkennen sein würde. Obwohl auf den Bildern ganz klar zu erkennen ist, dass mehrere Personen fotografiert wurden, neigt man dazu, sich auf die eine erkennbare Person zu konzentrieren, da die andere abgedunkelt ist.
Plötzlich beginnt man, andere Dinge wahrzunehmen, als einem auffallen würden, wenn man sie als Paar betrachtet. Man betrachtet sie als Individuum. Wer ist diese Person? Welchen Stil hat sie? Fühlt sie sich wohl in der Situation?
Zwei Personen posieren, eine Person ist im Schatten nicht zu erkennen.Zwei Personen posieren, eine Person ist im Schatten nicht zu erkennen.
Auf der anderen Seite konzentriert man sich auch auf die Beziehung zur anderen Person. Wie stehen sie zueinander? Auf welche Art halten sie sich gegenseitig? Ist es eine Geste der Liebe oder der Freundschaft?
Mir wurde klar, dass man die Personen in einem anderen Licht sieht. Ein einfacher Effekt kann die Art und Weise verändern, wie wir über Personen denken. Der Kontext ist verändert, aber nicht vollständig gelöscht.
von Niels Stomps, Gastautor. Bild der Autorin/des Autors
Seine Arbeit besteht aus fotografischen Serien. Das übergreifende Thema dieser Projekte ist die Art und Weise, wie Menschen sich verhalten und auf Veränderungen in ihrer Umgebung reagieren. Soziologische und ökologische Veränderungen, die so tiefgreifend sind, dass das Individuum sich anpassen muss. Er arbeitet daran, wie Menschen mit den Veränderungen umgehen, die sie dazu zwingen, ihr Leben unausweichlich anzupassen.
https://kwerfeldein.de/2017/05/11/niels-stomps/
Lightbox of 70 meters long showing 30 photographs from the series “City Forest” At Nai, Rotterdam,
Mist by Niels Stomps
“the powerlessness of people in the face of overwhelming force“.
Since my last post generated so much debate I thought I’d follow up with an example of a book that sits in close relation to the Wassink Lungren work but provokes much more thought and response from me. The work is by another Dutch photographer who is working in China -- his name is Niels Stomps and the book is called Mist.
Mist starts with a Harper’s Index type series of statistics regarding the effect of the Three Gorges Dam project on its surrounding environment. 172 fish species no longer able to reach their spawning grounds, 1300 archeological sites submerged, and the biggest cost of 1.3 million people displaced by 39.3 billion cubic meters of water.
Now I know that starting a book like this (and my description as well) leads one to automatically think this is a documentary project in the form of a protest against a humongous industrial project. Mist is not that protest book; it is more than that as it really is about the powerlessness of people in the face of overwhelming force. Whether that force is environmental or political, Mist is a book about being pushed to adapt your life around those forces that are presented in the light of ‘this is bettering your life so you should see its goodness and embrace the outcome.’ Mist happens to use an example found in China but this book metaphorically could be speaking to Americans against the war in Iraq or any other situation where the people are powerless to prevent the change.
The aforementioned statistics are followed by four chapters of photographs, the first of which is preceded by the words A window is a hole in a wall.
The Three Gorges Dam project submerged several villages with its gigantic river basin reservoir and new cities were built further up the mountainsides for people to relocate. These brand new cities did not evolve over a long period but sprung up quickly. They are planned out not to reflect the personality of the occupants but for an image of modernity and forward progress with little reflection of past history. What drew Niels’s attention in this first chapter were the small acts of defiance to this overwhelming city planning -- the most curious of which are the ‘rogue’ windows that were punched through walls of the high rise buildings by the new occupants as they saw fit.
The second chapter Climbing stairs like long-distance skaters refers to how these new environs change the flow and rhythms of life. These new mountainside cities are constructed on slopes so steep that sets of stairs need to be transverse in order to get from place to place. This constant ascent and descent takes its toll on the populace and forces them to establish a slower but steadier pace of life.
Chapter three for me is the most engaging as it so simply and poetically suggests the multitude of conflicting feelings about the dam project. Water for air, fish for birds is a series of people photographed from behind as they stand at the edge and overlook the basin reservoir.
Water tends to attract visitors but this body of water is loaded (quite literally for the submerged towns) with personal history and memory. These visitors seem detached from one another even if they appear in groups. The few whose faces can be seen in profile stare out at the water with what seems to be a mix of curiosity, remembrance, or resignation. Their body language doesn’t read as defeat so much as a longing to understand what has happened.
The last chapter, A landscape is not wide or narrow until somebody shows up is all about the confusion of scale. The sheer expanse of the natural landscape sitting alongside the magnitude of the newly created cities makes it hard to have a strong sense of scale within this man-altered landscape. Niels presents a small series of images that reflect this difficult perspective and as the preceding words suggest, it is not until the human element shows up that we understand not only the scale but the vantage point of the photographer. The humans act as literal measuring devices just as a yardstick does in Timothy O’Sullivan’s image of graffiti scratched into Inscription Rock in New Mexico.
Stomps medium or large format photography works as a string of images but I doubt I would have the same response to them on the wall as opposed to this form. The book feels like an entire work that can be revisited for further contemplation. The design is very well conceived as a horizontal book with the spine at the top and a mix of different paper stock. I like most all aspects other than I think the words preceding each chapter can be a bit heavy handed and lean towards pretension. Mist was published in 2007 by Veenman Publishers of Rotterdam.
With Mist, Niels Stomps has presented a complex book which is about modernization and the severing of emotional ties of people to their former comforts. It is a book that can be perceived as a warning of complacent attitudes or of the complete population control of states of power. The vision he presents shows those who may resist in the face of such overwhelming force will be crushed (or drown) in the name of progress.
http://5b4.blogspot.com/2008/05/mist-by-niels-stomps.html
Interview KieKie 18 oktober 2017
Niels Stomps werkt al vijftien jaar als documentair fotograaf en deelt zijn kennis en enthousiasme over het fotoboek tijdens het Expert Programma voor professionele fotografen aan de Fotoacademie in Amsterdam. Hij vertelt over zijn zogenaamde ‘sketches’, zijn drang om voortdurend nieuw werk te produceren en over de meerwaarde van het fotoboek.
Je observeert, fotografeert en legt hierdoor een stukje van het menselijk gedrag bloot. Wat fascineert je zo aan mensen en wat wil je de kijker vertellen met je werk?
“Wat me zo fascineert aan mensen is dat we eigenlijk allemaal heel erg op elkaar lijken. We willen allemaal individualistisch zijn, maar eigenlijk zijn we dieren en vertonen we allemaal hetzelfde gedrag. Het is een vrij simpel gegeven, maar daarom vind ik het ook zo leuk om dit te laten zien. Niet iedereen is hetzelfde, maar als ik een onderwerp lang bestudeer, gaan je patronen opvallen in hoe soorten groepen mensen zich gedragen. Dat vind ik tof dat ik dat dan ontdek. Wat ik mooi vind aan fotografie, mensen en hun gedrag is dat ik dit altijd verzamel op een plek waar er spanning is tussen mens en zijn omgeving, er moet altijd een soort frictie zijn. Dit is precies waar mijn werk over gaat; waar mensen eigenlijk gedwongen worden om zich aan te passen of zich anders moeten verhouden tot een situatie. Vaak doen we dat in een groep, maar er zijn ook individuele acties. Het gaat over de mens die zich aanpast aan de natuur. Dit kan echt een landschap zijn, maar met natuur bedoel ik ook bijvoorbeeld een stad. Het werkt ook andersom, hoe wij als mens de stad proberen te vormen en in te richten naar hoe wij dit zelf het fijnst vinden. Ik bewonder dat aanpassingsvermogen enorm en dat ontroert me.”
Hoe langer en meer ik naar je werk kijk, hoe meer humor ik erin ontdek. Is humor voor jou een belangrijk onderdeel in je foto’s?
Hoe langer en meer ik naar je werk kijk, hoe meer humor ik erin ontdek. Is humor voor jou een belangrijk onderdeel in je foto’s?
“Mijn werk heeft geen mega urgentie, het is heel subtiel en daar hoort humor ook wel een beetje bij. Toch denk ik dat het vooral komt, omdat ik steeds vrijer ga werken. Het heeft er ook wel mee te maken dat mijn series altijd tegen het cliché aanschuren. Ik denk vaak bij een serie dat het misschien iets te cliché wordt en dan geef ik er een draai aan. Daar maak ik het waarschijnlijk ook een stukje humoristischer mee.”
Je hebt jezelf de uitdaging gegeven om iedere vrijdag, een jaar lang, je fotografische bevindingen en observaties van die week online te zetten. Wat is je idee achter deze ‘sketches’ en hoe belangrijk is het voor jou als fotograaf om een continue werkflow te hebben en wekelijks nieuw werk te produceren?
“Ik vind het enorm heftig om te doen, maar het is in veel opzichten wel heel belangrijk voor me om wekelijks series te maken. Ik heb dit ook zelden gedaan in mijn eigen leefomgeving. Ik zoek mijn projecten vaak ergens anders, ook om een bepaald soort concentratie op te zoeken. Het is heel anders om het in je gewone week toe te passen. Ik ben ermee begonnen om weer te kunnen spelen en te experimenteren. Ik neem mezelf heel serieus, maar ik vind ook dat je jezelf niet altijd te serieus moet nemen. Daar kan je ook veel vrijheid door kwijtraken, omdat je niks meer uitprobeert. Omdat je aan je publiek denkt, wat zij ervan zullen vinden. Ik werk altijd veel met stagiaires en ik vind het leuk om een samenwerking met hen aan te gaan en gewoon lekker te experimenteren en een deadline te hebben. Je kunt niet te lang nadenken over iets, het moet er gewoon zijn. Plus dat er van fotografen altijd verwacht wordt een kant en klaar eindbeeld te hebben, terwijl als je ons vergelijkt met bijvoorbeeld voetballers of muzikanten, die trainen ergens voor. Als fotograaf oefen je eigenlijk nooit. Als iets niet goed werkt, dan is het weg, dus eigenlijk is het heel goed om dingen uit te blijven proberen.”
Het fotoboek is in die zin voor mij wel perfect, omdat er gaten in het verhaal kunnen liggen, wat je bij een film bijvoorbeeld niet kan doenhttp://www.kiekiekrant.com/tag/niels-stomps/
In cooperation with architectenbureau MVRDV and the Township Schijndel an exhibition about the village
Written by Laura Mallonee
MORE THAN 400 years ago, the intrepid Dutch navigator Willem Barentsz set off on an expedition to find a northeast passage to Asia. Instead, he found the frozen archipelago of Svalbard, a place now inhabited by a small community of scientists who share his vision and pluck.
Niels Stomps photographed their remote and fascinating world for his series I Can Hear the Waves. Set against a barren yet beautiful backdrop, his images show researchers busily launching weather balloons, taking ice cores and checking on their experiments. They live in a brutal place, but are undaunted. “The scientists are more or less modern-day explorers,” Stomps says. “They want adventure, and they are so curious that they are not afraid."
Svalbard is an archipelago of eight small islands. The largest, Spitsbergen, is midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole and hospitable enough for human habitation. It is an ideal outpost for Arctic research, which explains why some 20 countries have research centers there, studying everything from Arctic wildlife to shrinking glaciers. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault holds more than 800,000 seed samples from 5,100 plant species, and the Kjell Henriksen Observatory is among the best places to view Northern Lights.
Stomps is fascinated by science and research, so Svalbard was an obvious destination. “One of the main reasons for this project is that I want to be a scientist too,” he says, “and I kind of feel that way in a photographic sense.”
The Dutch photographer first visited the archipelago for a week-long trip in February, 2009. At that time of year, snow blanketed the ground and the nights were just four hours long. He was struck by how crisp, dry, and clean the air felt, so clear that everything look enhanced. “The shapes are so sharp it’s like someone used too much sharpening in Photoshop,” he says.
He’s since made six trips to Svalbard. Stomps photographed in Longyearbyen, the archipelago's largest village home to around 2,000 scientists, students and workers. He also visited the desolate mining towns of Pyramiden, now abandoned and Barentsburg, which Russia has recently begun to market to tourists.
Some locations were less accessible than others, and some required special permission to visit. It took him more than a year to photograph Ny-Alesund, a tiny scientific settlement reached only by sea or air. Once a launching point for explorers headed to the North Pole, today it hosts roughly 35 scientists from 10 countries. Stomps met many of them in the mess hall, where they chatted over meals. "They were so fascinated by [their experiments] that they could talk about [them] all day, every day," Stomps says.
Many of the scientists he met in Svalbard were happy to have him tag along as they went into the field. He found keeping his gear working challenging. Temperatures often dip below zero, so the photographer worked with a digital Hasselblad and kept the batteries tucked in his clothes, against his chest. Still, he often found the camera needed a few seconds to respond when he tripped the shutter. Stomps also had to be keenly aware while out on the tundra, as locals warned of polar bears who often get curious and hungry.
It’s not always clear at first glance what’s happening in each image, but that sense of mystery pushes Stomp’s project into poetic territory. The photos aren't a documentation of the science, but a celebration of the optimism and adventure that drives the scientists. “We always want to go further, to explore,” Stomps says. “It puts us in danger. It makes us vulnerable. But in the end it’s what makes us human.”
https://www.wired.com/2016/01/niels-stomps-can-hear-waves
The winner and the three finalists of the Second Edition of GD4PhotoArt competition selected by the jury are: Olivia Gay (France), Justin Jin (United Kingdom), Alessandro Sambini (Italy), Niels Stomps (The Netherlands).
They will have to complete their project on the theme “Industry, Society and Territory” by the 30th of June 2010. Before the end of 2010 an exhibition of the work of the winner and of the three finalists will be held, which will be inaugurated to coincide with the announcement of the 2011 third edition of GD4PhotoArt.
Fondazione Isabella Seràgnoli, will take place on Thursday 30th of September at 6.30 pm at the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna.
Photography meets Industry presents the images of the four winners of the 2009/10 edition: the French artist Olivia Gay shows the project “The Lacemakers of Calais” which focuses on women at work in the Noyon mechanical lace factory in Calais; the British photographer Justin Jin with “Zone of Absolute Discomfort” describes life in the far north of Russia, where conditions are very hard but habitable enough to keep alive mines that extract millions of tons of oil, gas and minerals; the Italian artist Alessandro Sambini proposes the project “‘Na mota e ‘na busa” on heaps intended as a product of human creativity; “Eldorado” of the Dutch artist Niels Stomps shows three series of photographs on the scientific research activity carried out in the Svalbard islands.
