PolaroidPolaroid photo of the former Polaroid factory in Enschede. I photographed the logo in 2001 as research for 'Wij', an exhibition at Kunstvereniging Diepenheim investigating the cultural identity of the Twente region. The factory closed in 2008 and the text sign has been removed in 2009. Polaroid is an edition of 20, still for sale on frenhofer.nl.
De GidsIn elk kunstenaarschap wemelt het van de gemeenplaatsen. Repeterende anekdotes, topoi, die iedere kunstenaarsbiografie hetzelfde skelet geven: hij of zij, altijd alleen; echt talent ontrekt zich aan scholing; duizenden geroepen, slechts een handvol uitverkoren. Veel of weinig talent, allemaal stellen zij hun leven in dienst van iets dat het leven wil ontstijgen. Kunst gaat voor kroost, reikt voorbij de dood.
The Trouble With ValueWhat practices bring us closer to understanding the potential of art to represent different notions of value in the contemporary? How can we counter the certain apathy of the contemporary to engage with positions that resist this mood and present us with challenging perspectives on value? The project attempts to locate artistic and institutional practices that offer viewpoints beyond the strategy of blending-in and conforming to the rules.
Discharged From State CollectionDrawing + polaroid / Tekening + polaroid. April / April 2018. Potlood, pastelkrijt en gum / Pencil, soft pastel and eraser. Maat / Size 83 x 57 cm. Referentie: / reference: opheffing / abolition of BKR. Gesigneerd / Signed op de achterkant / on the back.Te koop / For Sale. Prijs op aanvraag / Price on request. info@arnoudholleman.nl
FrenhoferOnline playground for (mostly) drawings. Drawing has been my escape from a heavy burn out. I (re-)discovered that the healing power of a hand-head-heart connection has little to do with all the don'ts of the art world. Prices from 30 to 3000 euros. (Frenhofer, by the way, is the protagonist in Balzac's The Unknown Masterpiece, a painter whose life is destroyed by his blind ambition to equal life in art).
Niet-weten als normAls Zijlstra praat, dan hoor je de positieve, neoliberale peptalk van Rutte, maar ook de anti-elitaire en antiglobalistische onderbuikpraat van Wilders. Het roer moet niet alleen om, maar de bestaande structuur moet als doel op zich schade worden toegebracht. Met andere woorden, schepping en destructie gaan hand in hand en uit de mond van Zijlstra klinkt dat allemaal verbluffend unisono.
De Burgers van SeoulEen betere verbeelding van hoe kunst aan macht en geld gelieerd is en gecorrumpeerd kan raken heb ik niet eerder zo gezien. Met de glaswand die me van hen scheidt hebben de Burgers van Calais een nieuwe huid gekregen. Het heeft weinig meer te maken met de gevoelige expressie in de beeldtaal van Rodin, of met de innovatieve kracht waarmee hij de beeldhouwkunst in de moderniteit heeft binnengehaald.
Recto / VersoDouble sided collage, 2009. Folded magazine spreads, originating from 1973 (Andy Warhol's Interview) and 2003 (Re-Magazine). The photo was re-photographed by Anuschka Blommers and Niels Schumm in 2003, with model Uta, posing as Re-Magazine covergirl Claudia. For sale, send e-mail to info@arnoudholleman.nl
Recto / VersoInterview covergirl Lauren Hutton was photographed by Francesco Scavullo in 1973. She's wearing Galanos - from his exciting fall 1973 collection. Accessorized by Galanos, makeup by Way Bandy, hair by Rick Gilette. The photo was re-photographed by Anuschka Blommers and Niels Schumm in 2003, with model Uta Eichhorn posing as Re-Magazine covergirl Claudia. She's wearing a black dress by Hermès. Styling by Katja Rahlwes, makeup by Renata Mandic.
NieuwkomerFor months after I first stood on that little bridge, I continued to circle around the windmills. Not only with my camera, but also with a microphone. When you look closer, the polder turns out to be an arena of conflicting interests. The cluttering of the landscape stands in opposition to climatological necessity; economic and ecological interests are locking horns for dominance; innovation oriented towards the future has to compete with the appreciation for history.
Me and PaoloMasked newspaper spread. Photo shows Italian soccer player Paolo de Canio, saluting his fans in nazi-style while celebrating the victory for SS Lazio over AS Roma in january 2005. Text at bottom centre: I just wanted to celebrate with my fans. A photographer using a camera that takes 500 frames a minute just caught this moment in the celebration and made it look as if I held my right hand in that position.
Re-MagazineRe-Magazine's great virtue is its willingness to expose sentiments that seldom find public expression, most often relating to the apparently trivial experiences and memories that make up the larger part of existence. Alongside this editorial idiosyncrasy, it is beautifully designed and photographed, each issue adopting a form to suit its subject - Emily King, Frieze, October 2003.
More of the samePhoto column in Amsterdam Weekly, focusing on similarities in the city environment. Based on the '700 centenboek' from 1975, in which Jos Houweling photographed objects throughout the city of Amsterdam in the same manner. The photo column appeared biweekly and was combined with the work of Hans Eijkelboom, whose series focus on similar human behavior or similar dress codes.
Auntie Truus and Auntie MokWith utmost concentration I tried to capture the atmosphere in the photos as closely as possible, but again and again I would screw up somewhere halfway. Either the balance in shading wasnt right, or I couldnt get the expressions right on their faces. When I finally managed to give Auntie Truus the right expression, I reached the point where I had a physical sensation of being on that lawn on Texel again on that day in 1969, asking Auntie Truus and Auntie Mok to pose for me. At that very moment, reality as such was redefined as an object for exhibition.
Herman HeijermansIve always thought of photography as something very magical and it is my belief that this is based on a genuine experience: in my early childhood there must have been no sharp distinction between a real thing and its image. In the same way that kids see themselves as inseparable from their mother until the age of three, I thought that object and image were simply two different manifestations of the same energy.
Re-Magazine #11 (Marcel)I forced myself not to spit, but to swallow. The undissolved salt got stuck to the back of my throat and oesophagus. I ended up nearly choking. It was as if I had eaten a mouthful of sand. I then began to drink one glass of water after another, but the salty taste persisted. It was terrible and wonderful at the same time, and in some strange way physically exhausting. I had eaten about 30 grams of salt, only five times the recommended daily allowance. Committing suicide can be very easy: one kilo of salt is all it takes.
Re-Magazine #12 (Hester)The door slammed behind us and we got locked out. We decided to deal with that later and first take the furniture down to the car. So we got into the lift with the filing cabinet and then the lift stuck. There was hardly anyone in this building, I was maybe one of only five people that had moved in. We were stuck in the lift for three hours and every time we heard a noise wed bang on the door. Eventually somebody came past and realised we were stuck and went to get help. When we got out of the lift we found out the car had been clamped while wed been stuck, which meant a penalty of 120 pounds.
MarcelLadies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, earth has disappeared. As we will not be able to crash, we will continue flying until we run out of fuel. Well so do something about it youve been wining about it for years. Well. Halfway. Everythings fine. Stay calm. Come on guys whats the big idea? You know, these days when somebody on the street says sorry its a junky. You see you dont get it. Youre just a character in someone elses plot.
OnkenhoutStaring at the picture of the garden on the postcard I catch a glimpse of my mother in a version of her life that she never lived, one in which Nico had gotten in touch, after that evening out. Perhaps now shed have a different surname and be sitting by a different fire drinking wine with a different child. In a moment that feels like an oedipal short circuit, I experience something impossible: that I never existed.
Aaltje KraakIn de Marslaan stond een rijtje van vijf jaren zestig-huizen te wachten op de sloop. De bouwnorm was in het centrum tot vierhoog verhoogd dus op die plek voldeden ze niet meer. De grote ramen, die de huizen ooit tot moderne doorzonwoningen hadden gemaakt waren nu dichtgetimmerd. Op het blanke hout van het underlayment stond over de volle lengte van het huizenblok met spuitbus geschreven: Weg met die zooi!
HesterIn the drawing, she has her head down because she was reading. Shes spent most of her life reading, its her way out of her depression. I remember being quite conscious of drawing her double chin, since she hates it. My mother hates the fact that shes losing her jawbone. I thought, No, Ive got to scrub it out. So I drew a shadow there. But these dark areas, the chin and the bags, emphasize her depression more than they show her reading a book.
Life is a Dream Come TrueIn most of my dreams there are no images or storylines to assign to their nightmarish feeling. They are more about certain dynamics, of shrinking and growing, for example, or being crushed. My body caving in on itself. As a depressed person I live inside my head and theres always a sense that my body is deteriorating and weak. So feelings of weakness and lightheadedness come to me naturally. Theres a vacancy in me that is connected to my dreams.
Me and BertThat summer I was into the differences and parallels between drawing and photography. I saw myself as a human camera and tried to copy photos as precisely as possible. I was intrigued by the fact that I had to work for hours or days or weeks on end and would still fail to come anywhere close to what the camera had seen in a split second. One night, after a long day of working with minute precision and concentration, I went out to a bar and ran into Bert.
Me and MadonnaWhen she comes past I click away hysterically. Not even with the intention of getting her picture but more because Im in the press enclosure and have to prove that Im a photographer or so. Im so busy with the camera and she goes by so fast that I hardly catch a glimpse of her. The print I have made is blurred. Also that night was the first time she showed up with a black hairdo instead of her usual blonde, so nobody recognized her on the photo.