samuel-veenstra-blog

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Portfolio

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ASPIRATIONS – STEDELIJK MUSEUM I went to the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. There wasn't any particular reason for going, I went just because.

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This is a photobook by Andrew Phelps and Paul Kranzler which I own. In it they visit ‘eletronic free’ zone in upstate New York. It is electronic free because of the immense radio satellite station which searches for Alien life. In it they focus on the surroundings and the people that inhabit this peculiar land.

What inspires me is the fact that they take a big chunky and somewhat nerdy subject and give it a podium. They make it accessible for an audience not familiar with the subject matter.

And it breathes a twilight zone vibe which is very much part of my interest.

I also made a similar series focusing on space which is somewhat inspired by this book in it I also try too communicate a difficult subject and make it accessible.

From The Drake Equation.

From my Space Series

  INSPIRATION – THE DRAKE EQUATION This is a photobook by Andrew Phelps and Paul Kranzler which I own. In it they visit 'eletronic free' zone in upstate New York.

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When researching other artists for a project about space travel I stumbled upon Christina de Middel, a Spanish/Belgian Magnum photographer. She shot a series called Afronauts which focuses on the remarkable true tale of the Zambian space program.

From Afronauts, by Christina de Middel

Using muted mid tones (browns, grays) and combining them with more saturated shades of red, orange and green and very straight forward lighting it has a sort of ‘magical realism’ (A depiction of a situation which is strange and very unlikely but nonetheless could be real) feel to it .

Which only makes the fact that she was inspired by the real Zambian Space Program even funnier and gives the series some depth.

    It’s this way of blending reality and fiction and turning it into a visual narrative is what inspires me about her work and is what I tried to do as wel for my series.

From Afronauts, by Christina de Middel

From my Space Series

    INSPIRATIONS – CHRISTINA DE MIDDEL When researching other artists for a project about space travel I stumbled upon Christina de Middel, a Spanish/Belgian Magnum photographer. 

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ASPIRATIONS - FOTODOK BOOKCLUB #14

ASPIRATIONS – FOTODOK BOOKCLUB #14

I went too a (photo)book club hosted by Rob Hornstra. In it three photographers were discussed: Bieke Depoorter, Tobias Bijl and Ad van Denderen.

We started of with Bieke Depoorter an 26 year old Magnum photographer who made a book about called ‘As it may be’which focuses on her travels in Egypt, Cairo. More precisely about her stay with the people of this country. Besides it containing beautiful…

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ASPIRATIONS - ROMAIN MADER & ANOUK KRUITHOF

ASPIRATIONS – ROMAIN MADER & ANOUK KRUITHOF

FOAM Amsterdam –  Romain Mader & Anouk Kruithof

When I first saw Anouk Kruithof’s work I was rather shocked. As a photographer I didn’t understand her work. Only after seeing a small documentary in which she explains herself what she does I got her intentions.

Kruithof pushes what we know as photography. She uses it as a basis to create sculptures, animation and video.

So instead of creating…

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ASPIRATIONS - SETTING THE STAGE NORTH KOREA

ASPIRATIONS – SETTING THE STAGE NORTH KOREA

Huis Marseille Amsterdam – Setting the stage North Korea  by Eddo Hartman

Eddo Hartman went to Pyongyang for three years (2014 – 2017), the result an amazing series in which he confronted me with some interesting new insights in North Korea.

He made a series that doesn’t necessarily holds any judgement towards the dictatorial regime. Most of us are familiar with North Korea one way or another,…

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ASPIRATIONS - UNWIRED & GIFLANDSCHAP REVISITED

ASPIRATIONS – UNWIRED & GIFLANDSCHAP REVISITED

Nederlands Foto Museum Rotterdam – Unwired & Giflandschap Revisited

Back again in NFM. When I bought my ticket the man at the register told me that for one of the exhibitions I had too hand in my cellphone and shoes.

This intrigued me of course.

And yes when I got to the area where the exhibition was held I was kind fully asked by an employee too take of my shoes and give him my cell.

Jacqueline…

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ASPIRATIONS - DE WERELD VAN PYKE KOCH

ASPIRATIONS – DE WERELD VAN PYKE KOCH

“De wereld van Pyke Koch” – Centraal Museum

So something not photography related this time. I went to the central museum in Utrecht and saw an exhibition on a dutch artist called Pyke Koch. He was one of the greats in the genre called ‘magic realism’. This is a painting style which portrails sights which could happen but are very unlikely.

Rustende slaapwandelaarster by Pyke Koch Magic Realism is…

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ASPIRATIONS - LANDSCAPE WITH TREE

ASPIRATIONS – LANDSCAPE WITH TREE

Huis Marseille Amsterdam – Landscape with tree

Also in October we went to Huis-Marseille. There was a large solo exposition by Jamie Hawkesworth a very young and upcoming photographer, who shoots all analogue on medium format film colour film.

From ‘Congo’ by Jamie Hawkesworth

He had multiple series hanging in the museum but one stood out for me called ‘Preston Busstop’ . A series which he shot…

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ASPIRATIONS - NUCLEUS, NOORDERLICHT

ASPIRATIONS – NUCLEUS, NOORDERLICHT

Nucleus – Noorderlicht  Groningen

The photo manifestation ‘Noorderlicht’ is an photography event that focuses on a subject and gives photographers from all around the globe the change to contribute to the event in their own way.

The subject that was given this year was ‘the visualization of science’.

First off, wow what an amazing collection of work. 74 Artists contributed and while I would like…

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ASPIRATIONS - BRUCE DAVIDSON

ASPIRATIONS – BRUCE DAVIDSON

Bruce Davidson  – Nederlands Fotomuseum Rotterdam

At NFM There was an very large exhibition on legendary Magnum Photographer Bruce Davidson. Fair to say, I’m in love.

Too me this was the first exhibition where I really felt something. You know that weird feeling you get when you see something and it just speaks too you. That’s what I experienced when I was walking past Davidsons work.

From the…

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ASPIRATIONS - VOORBIJ WIJ EN ZIJ

ASPIRATIONS – VOORBIJ WIJ EN ZIJ

FotoDok Utrecht – Voorbij Wij En Zij

Back in October I saw an exhibition at FotoDOK called “Voorbij  Wij En Zij” (Translated: “Beyond US And Them”) Which was an exhibition about identity and group mentality  in the modern age.

I was very impressed by all the different takes on the subject. The two installations that really stayed with me though was an installation by Roos van Geffen called “Zwar…

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ASPIRATIONS - DE DONKER KAMER #32

ASPIRATIONS – DE DONKER KAMER #32

Pakhuis de Zwijger Amsterdam – De donkere Kamer #32

On Monday 11th of September we went too De donkere Kamer #32 a so called ‘Live Magazine’. I’ll spare you a full summary of what we did, but let’s say it was well worth our time. There were a number of artists but the ones that really stayed with me are recent Art graduate Sanne de Wilde and Venezuelan photographer Oscar B. Castillo. Both have…

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After a lecture by this artist I got a little obsessed with his work. I have an interest with a lot of his projects because of the subject matter and the thin line he dares to walk between fiction and non-fiction

One project resonated the most with me; ‘The Modular Body’, a multi-media project it was a fictional science project in which the build, as the title may suggest a modular body. This raises all sort of interesting questions like: When is something alive and do created lifeforms deserve rights?

The-Modular-Body, by Floris-Kaayk

The thing that inspires me about Kaayk is his ability to blend fiction and reality. Something I tried to do in my process of working on my Transhumanism Project. I was very much intrigued by the combination of flesh and electronics and took this as a starting point for my visual investigation in developing the project.

One of experiment into combining flesh and electronics.

One of my experiment into combining flesh and electronics.

    INSPIRATIONS – FLORIS KAAYK After a lecture by this artist I got a little obsessed with his work. I have an interest with a lot of his projects because of the subject matter and the thin line he dares to walk between fiction and non-fiction…

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I first learned about this photographer at the Noorderlicht Photo expo were he was showing his series ‘Grinders’. It’s shot almost in a surgical way, using a hard flash and which brings out the colors and the subjects. This is especially interesting considering the gory displays within the photo’s.

By, Hannes Wiedemann

By, Hannes Wiedemann

His work is inspiring and interesting to me because of the subject matter. I am very interested in the relationship between man and technology and the way it is changing in our modern era.

I made a project myself on the subject of Transhumanism, which touches a lot of ground with Wiedemann’s project.

From my Transhumanism Project

From my Transhumanism Project

From my Transhumanism Project

  INSPIRATIONS – HANNES WIEDEMANN I first learned about this photographer at the Noorderlicht Photo expo were he was showing his series 'Grinders'.

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This documentary Photographer tries too expose the absurdity in the things we find ‘normal’. Humor is a key factor in his work which also makes it unique. For his series about tourism for example he looks for the most sought after places and tries too capture the mass behavior people participate in.

I made series about my baby brother who grows up in a digital age and won’t know a world without it. Like Parr I also approached it with the understanding that for him this is all he knows. Parr inspired me because of his neutral approach towards these ‘large’ subjects. I don’t take sides on my brothers ‘digital-dependency’ I just observed it and asked some questions.

Mona Lisa, by Martin Parr

My little brother, by me.

INSPIRATIONS – MARTIN PARR This documentary Photographer tries too expose the absurdity in the things we find 'normal'. Humor is a key factor in his work which also makes it unique.