Welcome to my Blog!
I hope to share here my irrepressible thoughts on news, music, books, arts and such like. In general these will be items, events and issues which I feel have no place on my website (which focusses on aviation history and my travel photography).

The item immediately below this would be the latest posting.

Anybody, providing he knows how to be amusing, has the right to talk about himself. - Charles Baudelaire
Esse est percipi (To be is to be perceived) ¬Bishop George Berkeley

Not even I understand everything I am ¬Aurelius Augustinus of Hippo

In 2013 I started a series of photo albums on Blurb.com, named '36Exp' (a subject adressed in 36 exposures, a reference to the exposures on most common rolls of 35 mm film: 12, 24 & 36.).
The books can be ordered directly from the Blurb.com website or Amazon.
www.blurb.com/user/ruudleeuw

CURRENT BLOG

REVOLUSI! is an exhibition on the impassioned pursuit of a free Indonesia after a long period of colonial domination. And it’s an important part of Dutch- as well as world history.

Diplomats, freedom fighters, victims, liberators. Everyone has a different view...
REVOLUSI! is about the Indonesian struggle for independence (1945-‘49), seen through the eyes of people who experienced it. More than 20 personal stories tell us how the ideal of a free Indonesia is fervently pursued; how it is fought over, how it is negotiated, how it is propagated and how the revolution determines human lives.
I was pleased to also see a series of photos by Henri Cartier-Bresson, who visited Indonesia in 1949.

www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/revolusi
More photo at Flickr.com

Some of her biography (www.pulchri.nl/nl/kunstenaars/jacobien-de-korte/#, Google Translate): 'My autonomous work arises from personal feelings and experiences.
In a quiet, introverted way I try to express concepts such as alienation, loneliness, mystery and melancholy. These are recognizable to every person to a greater or lesser extent.
With the pursuit of mutual recognisability, I hope to offer comfort and understanding, as well as to find it.
Printing my work on fine art paper is an important part of the process.
Work has been exhibited in Dutch museums and galleries and in various countries: Italy (Vicenza), England (London), France (Excedeuil), Portugal (Lisbon), Tiradentes (Brazil). For 2023 I have been invited by the European Cultural Centre to participate in the architecture biennale.'

www.jacobiendekorte.com

Rotterdam Photo is an annual photo fair with a festival flair. The event celebrates the spectrum of contemporary photography in all its diversity.
Being part of the Rotterdam Art Week, the event yearly attracts around 10.000 visitors, among whom art lovers, collectors, gallerists, as well as international art press professionals from different parts of the globe. This year the exihibiots of 2021 and 2022 were combined.

Every year the fair offers a wide gamut of independent photographers the opportunity to exhibit their projects.
Photographers can participate individually or on behalf of the gallery by submitting their works and projects via an open call related to the current theme.
The goal of the photo fair is to offer an affordable exhibition space directly to photographers, proposing lower costs compared to the traditional art/photo fairs. Many of the containers shared 2 artists.

The edition 2022 is unique for the Rotterdam Photo. Due to several postponements and cancellations caused by COVID-19 pandemic, for the first time, the festival has 2 themes at the same time – PLANET HUMAN & THE HUMAN BLUEPRINT.

Under the umbrella of these 2 themes, more than a 100 (!) photographers from all over the globe show their projects this May.
All photographers from the Rotterdam Photo 2021 edition ( PLANET HUMAN theme) and photographers from Rotterdam Photo 2022 edition (THE HUMAN BLUEPRINT theme) have become part of the new Rotterdam Photo 2022 XL edition...

I might join myself one day, it's a great event! I only would wish it would last longer that a mere 4 days!

www.rotterdamphoto.eu
More photos on Flickr.com

Snoecks is a Belgian almanac. The 550-plus-page (!) magazine is published once a year in October and focuses on new international developments in the arts, photography and literature.
The magazine has featured artists such as Anton Corbijn, Larry Sultan, Matthew Barney, Terry Richardson, Ron Mueck, Alberto Garcia-Alix, Peter Lindbergh, Albert Watson, Desiree Dolron, Bettina Rheims, Diana Scheunemann, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Andres Serrano. The first Snoecks appeared in the 1920s, but its modern form, with an emphasis on photography, has its base in the 1970s. Since 2004 its editor-in-chief has been Geert Stadeus.

This 98th (!) volume of the Snoecks yearbook offers the familiar and inspiring mix of art, fascinating reports, literary essays and powerful photography.
From the witty DIY productions by 'car builders' at the Burning Man festival, to the gripping search for a sister of Lindokuhle Sobekwa, to a privileged look behind the scenes of the famous Teatro alla Scala in Milan. A masterpiece of compilation, one may even go as far as declaring the Snoecks a a bible of 'the humanistic arts'...
This edition was (again) produced by Geert Stadieus as Chief Editor and Patrick Snoeck, Publisher.

Sarah Bouillaud and Elinor Carucci each give a twist to the concept of 'family photo' in their own way, Cortis & Sonderegger and JR question the way we perceive and Annette LeMay Burke shows with a wink mobile phone masts (see image above) that pretend they are not there. All this in good company of the work of many other photographers and other visual artists from home and abroad.
Always a nice interaction of photography and books, the stories of centuries-old and hypermodern libraries. My immediate reaction is to make a list and visit them all!

For those who love books, in addition to the regular book section, the obituaries as a conclusion (too many pages, so sad!) of writers who died (including John le Carré) in the past year and the literary prizes, this time there are also two special short stories by Mariana Enriquez and Jonathan Oliver - exciting with an occult edge.

Snoeck Publishers was founded in 1989. Most of the publications focus on art and culture in a broad sense: the visual arts, archaeology, applied art, architecture and design, film and photography, art history and ethnography, heritage etc.
Originally owned by the graphics company Snoeck-Ducaju en Zoon, Snoeck Publishers has been completely independent since 2004. Philip Van Bost took over Snoeck Publishers in 2011.
Snoeck publishes about 60 books per year, mainly in partnership with museums and clients, most of which are in Belgium and France.
Snoeck Publishers has its roots in Ghent, and its headquarters are still there today.

snoeckpublisher.be/nl/
en.wikipedia.org:_Snoecks

When I was in Glasgow recently, I visited the Glasgow Gallery of Photography ( 57 Glassford Street, Glasgow City Centre) and acquired this photobook by local photographer Samantha Ryan (from Paisley).
She specialises in black and white photography.
Sam spent a year between 2018 and 2019 capturing the interplay of light and shadow on the streets of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Capturing images on most days, Sam has now curated 17 of her favourite shots into her first book, titled Chasing Shadows.
The book is hardcover, printed 10x8in on high quality pearl finish paper. And while I don't understand the process of ordering I copy here the instructions from the website: 'Orders are placed and fulfilled through Blurb books, a global printer and distributor of photo books. Click the button below to order a copy (link does not open in new window).' ¬samryanphotography.com/publications
Really pleased with this book and her work in my collection, also recognized some of the streets I walked through!

samryanphotography.com

Searching for Life - Photography from Syria (Khaled Akacha)
A publication during the exhibition at the Glasgow Gallery of Photography of the same name

Upon a recent visit to Glasgow I stumbled upon this gallery dedicated to photography. I had not noticed it during my research for this trip, but apparently they haven't been long here at this adress: 57 Glassford Street, Glasgow City Centre G1 1UB.
At the Glasgow Gallery of Photography I enjoyed a solo exhibition (30Apr22-30May22) of work by
Syrian photographer Khaled Akacha.
The booklet contains 26 images.
Curated and produced by E.Springall, sponsored by Silverprint.

Khaled Akacha is a Syrian media activist and writer who resides in the city of Idlib. He uses his photography to report and document what is happening in his country.
He has worked with various news agencies such as Aljazeera and Reuters, as well as the United Nations.
He hopes that through his photography he can share the Syrian plight with as many people all around the world.

The Glasgow Gallery of Photography began as a free online gallery in 2015, and since 2019 has a physical space in the city centre of Glasgow. Holding regular exhibitions throughout the year, the gallery displays the work of both Scottish and international photographers. And they have a nice selection of books for sale.
Don't miss the large showcase of international street photography in the large basement of The Glasgow Gallery of Photography!
Whenever I'll be visiting Glasgow, I'll stop by here!

www.whatsonglasgow.co.uk:_the-glasgow-gallery-of-photography
www.pexels.com/nl-nl/@khaled/
www.unicef.org/syria/stories/

When I had read the biography on Diane Arbus: Portrait of a Photographer, by Arthur Lubow, I was determined to find for myself a photobook of her work. I found 'Ohne Titel' ('Untitled'), a German publication, and ordered it online from a German bookseller.
It is indeed indicative of her work, I find.

Born into considerable wealth, Arbus suffered all her life from the guilt of privilege. Her mother, Gertrude, was the heir to the family business, Russeks, a prestigious department store on 5th Avenue that sold furs. While Gertrude was detached to the point of cold, her husband, David Nemerov, was strict to the point of bullying.
Diane Nemerov married Allan Arbus when she was 18. Allan worked in the company’s advertising department. Soon after they were married Allan gave her a camera as a present.

'Ohne Titel' was published in 1995 by 'The Estate of Diane Arbus´. Support by Marvin Israel, who played such a major role in Diane's life, in the publication of this book is mentioned seperately.
The images in this book were taken by Arbus during 1969-1971, and some people might consider them shocking. Or photography of mentally handicapped people in itself shocking in terms of ethics.

The photos included in this book featured portraits taken outdoors during the final years of Arbus’ life
(-between 1969 and 1971-) on repeated trips to developmental disability residencies in New Jersey. While some photos feature solo figures that boldly confront our gaze, most images include various groups (mostly women) engaged in cheerful activities: an afternoon picnic, a Halloween parade, ladies in floppy sun hats, girls in bathing suits ready for a swim, an elderly woman in a wheelchair wearing a Venetian mask.

Diane Arbus felt a special kind of empathy with people considered 'freaks' in hard-nosed society. With many she kept in contact over the years. These human moments, depicted in 'Untitled', are tender and touching.
Doon Arbus, Diane's eldest daughter, wrote an essay in this book explaining Diane's position in some of her controversial photography.

Because much of her work was so controversial and non-commercial, she was constantly pressed for money and depressed. She lamented that her work no longer gave her anything back and a photo of her
in 1971 shows her gaunt in her Westbeth apartment, the same year she killed herself.

My book discussion on Arthur Lubow's biography can be found on MyBlog-2022Q1

en.wikipedia.org:_Diane_Arbus
artpulsemagazine.com/diane-arbus: untitled
americansuburbx.com/2009 -untitled-by-diane-arbus (review)

Smeulend vuur ('Treigasteinn'; EN: 'The Quiet Mother') is the latest Konrad mystery by Arnaldur Indriðason.
An elderly woman named Valborg is found murdered in her home; on her desk is a piece of paper with the telephone number of the retired policeman Konráð. It turns out that some time earlier the woman had asked him to track down the child she had given up almost 50 years ago, immediately after birth, but Konráð had replied that he could not help her. Now he regrets it and intends to track down the child.

Konráð is an emphatic person and (almost) always explains that he is a retired detective and people are not under any obligation to coöperate with his investigation. With certain men he blows a fuse though.
The plot developes calmly, and we see police inspector Marta returning to the scene but while she is searching for a killer, Konráð is looking for an abandoned child without even knowing whether the child is a boy or a girl.

Konráð is still struggling with memories of his father: by whom and why was his father killed?
He revisits the location where his father was found in a pool of blood and meets the woman who had found him.
This brings him again in contact with Eygló, daughter of his father's partner in a fraudulent setup.
Eygló's father was able to contact the dead, she is convinced about that and struggles with such capacities herself. She is more or less convinced that her father was a weak man under the bad influence of Konráð's father.

Valborg had worked in discotheque Glaumbaer when she was young, a very popular place. One night it went up in flames, shortly after that she had a child away from family and friends. He finds out that a midwife named Sunnefa had convinced her not to have an abortion and Sunnefa, a religious fanatic, had taken the baby away. But Sunnefa had died long ago.

Slowly Konráð follows a trail of people and finds people who have a vague memory of a lonely, lost boy.
The clue unravels in a way you won't see coming!

Am looking forward to the next Konráð mystery: Þagnarmúr (Wall of Silence)!

en.wikipedia.org:_Arnaldur_ Indriðason

Enjoyed watching the floats go by yesterday (@Lisse) for the '2022 Bloemencorso Bollenstreek' parade.
The Bloemencorso of the Bollenstreek is the largest spring festival in The Netherlands.
This colourful (and fragrant!) spectacle is celebrated annually during one week of the year by more than one million visitors. Due Corona 2020 + 2021 were cancelled, and this time the turn out was again something like a million people attending the parade from the start in Noordwijk to the destination in the centre of Haarlem.
The addition of cheerful music from the marching bands contribute to the festive atmosphere.

The main highlight of the event is the parade on Saturday when the colourful floats and the luxury vehicles decorated in masses of flowers travel the 42 km route. On the sunday the floats can be admired whilst stationary in Haarlem and wave them goodbye when they leave at the end of the day.

bloemencorso-bollenstreek.nl/en/
More photos on MyFlickr.com

In the Archeon park & museum in Alphen a/d Rijn one travels a timeline from pre-historic days, through Medieval times and which ends in 14th century 'Gravendam'.
Information boards explain about the dwelling and living conditions, plus where they were found in the Dutch Lowlands.
From hunter-gatherers through Roman days into Medieval times, with peasants growing their own crops, keeping their own cattle.
Most industry in medieval Europe was carried out on a very small scale and was closely related to farming, either processing its produce or servicing its needs. Much of this was carried out within rural villages rather than in towns.
Brewing, milling, baking bread, cheese-making, spinning, weaving, making clothes, tanning leather and making shoes, belts, woodworking, smithing and building and maintaining cottages, barns and other buildings, all were done by the villagers themselves within their own households.
We see how farm animals first live inside the house, later are moved out. Houses become more refined with boarded floors and larger.
It's a fascinating walking tour through history with tools and customs further explained by volunteers in periodic dress, through times of the 'cottage industry' (NL: Huisnijverheid) which slowly gave way to industrialisation.
We ended the visit with a demonstration by re-enactors in the arena, 2 gladiators duelling.

From Wikipedia: 'Archeon is an archeological open air and living museum in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands that did open in 1994.
In Alphen an ancient Roman military fortress has been established around 40, the settlement was given the latin name Albaniana.
A restoration yard with original wooden ships from the Roman period, found at Zwammerdam, is part of the collection.
Archeon was and is host to several festivals such as the Midsummer Fair, the Midwinter Fair, the Roman Festival and the Elf Fantasy Fair.'

Glad I finally came into an opportunity to visit the Archeon, maybe I'll revisit during such a fair!

www.archeon.nl
en.wikipedia.org:Archeon,_Netherlands
www.thefinertimes.com/economy-in-the-middle-ages
www.timeref.com/life/trading
www.timemaps.com/encyclopedia/medieval-europe-economy-history

Keukenhof (EN: 'Kitchen garden'; a.ka. the Garden of Europe, is one of the world's largest flower gardens, situated in the municipality of Lisse, in the Netherlands.
It is widely known for its tulips, it also features numerous other flowers, including hyacinths, daffodils, lilies, roses, carnations and irises.

The Keukenhof is located south of Haarlem and southwest of Amsterdam in the area called the 'Dune and Bulb Region' (Duin- en Bollenstreek). It is accessible by bus from Haarlem and Leiden train stations as well as Schiphol.
Though its grounds are open year-round for private affairs and festivals, Keukenhof is only open to the general public for a world-renowned 8 week tulip display from mid-March to mid-May, with peak viewing arriving near mid-April, depending on growing season weather, which varies annually.

en:_wikipedia.org/wiki/Keukenhof

For a long time, photographer Gerard Wessel lived on the Singel, in the centre of Amsterdam. There he became fascinated by the city’s multifarious urban life existing within a short distance from his house: junkies, prostitutes, tourists, vagrants, club kids, and rebellious youth.
Many aspects of society, politics, music, visual arts, and fashion could be found on the streets.
Wessel captured the city’s daily life with his Rolleiflex Wide camera, his archive growing steadily through the 1980s and ’90s, and into the 21st century.
He became so well-known that, for some young people, you were only really part of Amsterdam’s nightlife scene if you had been photographed by Wessel.

"Don't call me a news photographer," says Gerard Wessel, "because I'm actually a traditional street photographer. Wandering through the city with a small-screen camera and without appointments, I feel happiest."
It is the confession of someone who has great admiration for the New York news hunter Weegee, the American photographer Diane Arbus. but also the poetic approach of fashion photographer Paolo Roversi.

Immediately after his studies at the Hague School of Photography and Photonics, Wessel became staff photographer of Nieuwe Revu in 1985 and he became known as a chronicler of Dutch youth culture and as a 'court photographer' of pop star Herman Brood.

Like the photographer Cas Oorthuys, whom he also admires, Wessel spends as much time archiving and categorizing his photographic production as he does in photographing itself.
He is aware that he is constantly highlighting changing images of time, in which aspects of politics, music, fashion and visual arts come together, and that these are not only newsworthy for the moment but also have an importance for the future.

Pages: 192, illustrated colour & bw, 24 x 28 cm, paperbackb, Dutch/English

www.gerardwessel.nl
www.ideabooks.nl/ -gerard-wessel-circus-amsterdam

Visited today Bill Brandt's exhibition at FOAM (Fotografi Amsterdam), he's one of the most influential and internationally acclaimed photographer and photojournalist.
Bill Brandt's The Beautiful and the Sinister demonstrates the close relationship existing between the work of the British photographer and the art of the European avant-garde, in particular Surrealism.
I saw his work published in the English photo magazines I read in the 1970, and I always thought that his abstract nudes were what he was all about. I was pleased to find out I was wrong!
Departing from the notion that the sinister ('unheimlich') is an ever present element of Brandt’s photographs, the exhibition shows how this characteristic manifests itself in both his artistic and documentary practice.
From his earliest photographs in the 1930s, to his portraits and nudes in later years, Brandt shows a permanent fascination to the strange. Sinister and fascinating!

Bill Brandt’s work of the 1930s is characterised by its emphasis on social inequality in England during that time. By using his family contacts, he was able to visualise the extreme contrasts of wealth in British society.
Brandt was most innovative in his photographic experimentation of nudes. These photographs possess a great symbolic significance that in many cases is related to elements taken from psychoanalysis and Surrealism, such as a strong lighting contrast, the inclusion of elements like images, mirrors or doors and windows as symbols of escape.
Most novel was his use of a wide-angle lens. It reshaped and distorted the viewpoint of the naked figure.
In his landscape photography he combined nature and industry as he moved away from the picturesque. Brandt created a sombre vision of the United Kingdom, in which rainy landscapes and mists, and commonplace and industrial structures replaced the sublime in nature.
Taking the idea of the sinister as one of the elements in Bill Brandt’s images, the exhibition shows how this idea appears throughout the artist’s practice, focusing on his photojournalism and the three genres of artistic photography: nude, portraiture and landscape.

Bill Brandt (born Hermann Wilhelm Brandt; 02May1904 – d.20Dec1983) was a British photographer and photojournalist.
Born in Germany, Brandt moved to England, where he became known for his images of British society. During World War II Brandt concentrated on many subjects – as can be seen in his Camera in London (1948) but excelled in portraiture and landscape.
Brandt became Britain's most influential and internationally admired photographer of the 20th century.

www.foam.org/about/- - -/bill-brandt
en.wikipedia.org:_Bill_Brandt

Michael Pye’s focus is not on Antwerp of the past and present, but in its 'glory years', which filled most of the century that began in 1500.
“Commerce was its identity,” he writes, “the energy which held it together.” Fundamental to that was a very “pragmatic kind of tolerance”: Antwerp’s “business depended on foreign traders, so it had no interest in abolishing the heresies to which so many of those traders were attached”.
In Antwerp, money mattered, not God.

Pye draws on a rich tapestry of sources – and individuals – to paint his portrait. Some were little known beyond inventories of the goods they left behind.
The large number of sources probably explain the fragmented way of writing, each page is brimming with facts. One moment it details a person, then the ethics involved, locations in Antwerp, connections abroad, opposing persons, dates, proclamations, family connections, religions, et cetera...
For me this made reading difficult and unattractive, there's not exactly a flow to follow but instead there's a machinegun fire of facts and brief explanations, and onto the next bit.

Antwerp was the world's market for ideas, spices and secrets. It was also the place for breaking the rules - intellectual, religious, sexual. I love the 16th century but this book shows 'there can be too much of a good thing'.
For me this book is a massive amount of research and information and it pains me to say this, I'd rather had a few less facts and a book better written.

www.theguardian.com/books/2021/ - /antwerp-the-glory-years

We attended the festive opening of the Athenaeum Bookshop Zuidoost (Amsterdam) yesterday.
A band with drums and trumpets livened up the opening, hips swaying to the rhythm.

From March 2022 there is this quirky, spacious bookstore in the Amsterdams Poort shopping center – near the Amsterdam Arena: Athenaeum Boekhandel Zuidoost.
The offer is broad and aimed at the very diverse audience in Zuidoost. The people, many with a distinct cultural non-white background, all those who work and live there in Amsterdam Zuidoost ('Bijlmer') can visit and browse the multi-cultural and as well as popular book titles. They also have an excellent selection of international magazines and newspapers.

Staff and the Chair of the City Council Zuidoost, Tanja Jadnanansing, made their speeches (about the love of books, in every culture, at every age).

Gershwin Patrick Bonevacia (b.19May1992 in Rotterdam) read some of his work for those that gathered this day. He's a Dutch writer, poet and philosopher and from March 2019 to January 2022 he was 'city poet of Amsterdam'.
Bonevacia partly grew up in Curaçao. At the age of 9 he moved to the Netherlands, since then he has lived in Amsterdam.
In his role as a poet and writer, Bonevacia collaborates with organisations such as the Van Gogh Museum, Erasmus University up to NPO and TEDx. He writes a poem for Het Parool every month. Bonevacia recited his pieces to the Royal Family and for the NTR.
Behind the writing talent of Gershwin Bonevacia lies a special story. Bonevacia has dyslexia, something that often got in the way of him at the beginning of his school career. A writer with dyslexia sounds like an impossible combination, but not for Bonevacia.
I bought his book 'Toen Ik Klein Was, Was Ik Niet Bang'.

At Athenaeum Boekhandel Zuidoost one will find a rich and surprising assortment of books about history, fashion, film and music.
In addition, one will find a lot of (children's) literature (Dutch and English) and specialist journals. Athenaeum Boekhandel Zuidoost works together with the various cultural institutions that zuidoost is rich in, and provides an assortment that fits the unique, cosmopolitan atmosphere in this part of Amsterdam.

NL.wikipedia.org:_Gershwin_Bonevacia
en.wikipedia.org:_Amsterdam-Zuidoost
www.amsterdam.nl/stadsdelen/zuidoost/- - -/tanja-jadnanansing/ (NL)
More photos of this on www.flickr.com/photos