Archive for the ‘photography’ Category

Rotterdam

Looking at this photo from the nursery in Tsarkoye Selo, the tsarevitch did have opportunities to play. I wonder whether the tsarina had him accompanied by the sailor whose job it was to keep Alexei from bumping into things. Makes you realise how rare and valuable normality is for the modern hemophiliac.

In 1981 I took pictures with my Exacta camera during a schooltrip to “Westkunst” in Cologne and an exposition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. All I could see were pictures of either technical objects, street scenes or very casual portraits. I was certainly a shy photographer, but I still love to take pictures of lids, taps and signs. See the complete set on flickr.

very relevant, of course.

Just discovered that the prices for the works of Stanley end Elisabeth Burns have been rising steadily. My interest in post mortem photography was raised by the Amenabar classic “Los Otros”, featuring a “Book of the Dead” prop that actually featured a picture of the director himself. The real source of the director’s inspiration is probably the work of the Burns’.

Above: a portrait from Claudia’s family. Second from the left is her great-grandfather at the deathbed of his aunt, somewhere in Sinaloa, late 19th century. Below left to right: a snippet from the poster, the picture of Amenabar, two images from Sleeping Beauty I (now between $ 500 and $ 1.200) and the cover of Sleeping Beauty II (somewhere in the $ 150 range).

From despair to hope in 1/1000 s.

Immensely enjoyed Lisa Gerrard’s performance at the Rotterdam theatre. Intense, nervous, perfectionist, Lisa Gerrard was far from easy on herself and presented her l’art pour l’art as a religious dogma. At that moment I slowly began to understand Rutger Hauer’s slightly tormented facial expression towards the end of Simone de Vries’ filmic portrait of the Dutch actor. In “Blond, Blue Eyes”, the documentary film maker closely follows Rutger Hauer and peels off the on-screen persona of the dangerous, strong and sexy villain. In real life, the seasoned actor is more than timid and soft spoken, and even shows sardonic self relativization. Towards the final moments of the documentary, the actor at times seems puzzled, as if about the say: “Hey. I’m only pretending”.

Admitted, blatant plagiarism, but I couldn’t help myself when I read this quote under an email message.