Hanneke van Velzen
but ... from the same planet ? a catalogue of cultural selections
Hanneke van Velzen work from 1992 - 2002
but ... from the same planet ? a catalogue of cultural selections
contents
Boardwalk C o n ey I s la n d , 1 9 92
Tr a s h C o n ey I s la n d , 1 9 92
Underground 33 N ew Yo r k C i t y, 1 993
F i v e W hit e M a l e s Br o o kly n , 1 994
Wo m e n L a u g h in g N ew Yo r k C i ty, 1 996
D o gs v a r i o us l o c a t i o n s, 1 998
h.couple w. m a n sh o es c o l o r f u l lg i r l w. w o ma n g l a ss e s oldman g i r l g l o s sbi k i h a p p y bo y a n g e l woodstock mcd’cup n es t ea g l a s c u ps n e st alcopap styro bigplast b l . f e m. w h i t e r a i n b l . f . s q ua r e w. m a n sp o r t sb a g glassman w. b l o n d sfe m a r. c o o l g u y thewoman J . N. J.E. M.C. B.C. M.M. S.B. J . D. M.B. D. F. W. S . R u by Black Golden Betsy Mavis
p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge p a ge
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 45 46 47 48 49 53 54 55 56 57 61 62 63 64 65
5
Boardwalk Coney Island, 1992
7
ar.mancap
ar.mantowel
8
h.couple
girldarkexp
olderlady
oldman
towel
bl.mandrink
colorfullgirl
9
girlglossbiki
happyboyangel
mancoverface
w.manshoes
w.womanglasses
I spent 1992 and 1993 photographing New Yorkers in various locations, in this instance on the beach. In some cases, I asked people if I could take their picture; in others, I took candid shots. I was fascinated by the little worlds people create for themselves away from home. 10
Sunbathing has always intrigued me. It seems a curious habit, one I’ve never fully understood. The sun has been important to every culture, and perhaps soaking it up could be considered a luxurious form of contemporary worship, making up for all the long days spent under artificial lighting.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Trash Coney Island, 1992
19
cupsnest
beerpap
20
litlleguy
plasticberry
alcopap
mcd‘cup
snapbott
bigplast
bud
liqusand
21
straw
nathcup
nesteaglas
styro
woodstock
22
While photographing the sunbathers, I noticed that the bottles and drinks they discarded seemed to be doing the same thing as the bathers themselves. This series is a commentary on the previous one. The trash mimics the peoples’ poses.
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Underground 33 New York, 1993
31
ar.man
bl.f.square
bl.fem.whiterain
femdarkgl
glassman
hsp.man.hat
w.man2coat
manraincoat
w.blondfem
32
bl.nurse
bl.guycap
fem.umbrella
33
hasid
j.man
w.man2/2
ar.coolguy
w.mansportsbag
thewoman
34
For this series, I photographed people waiting in the subway station at 33rd Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan. Pipes, wires, and all sorts of contraptions are visible there, giving you a good sense of all that is hiding under New York City’s streets. They add to the sense of entrapment one cannot help feeling in the subway. Taking these pictures of people from across the platform was another form of entrapment, especially if they noticed.
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
Five White Males Brooklyn, 1994
43
44
During two weeks in March 1994, I invited five male friends to come to my cold studio early in the morning, when the light entered low through my eastern window, and pose naked on the floor. Rather than imitating romantic or erotic imagery of nude females created by men, I wanted these images to be as unemotional as possible. I emphasised the power position of the photographer by taking the pictures from above with a tripod extension. Hanging the photographs vertically added a sense of disorientation. When the photographs were exhibited life-size, a mother and her little daughter approached one of the pictures and the child attempted to grab the penis in the photo. The mother turned as red as her coat and said “Don’t touch the art, honey.�
45
46
47
48
49
Women Laughing New York City, 1996
51
52
After many years in New York, I really missed that “laughing until you die� I used to share with girlfriends in the Netherlands. The people I saw laughing like that in New York were mostly African-American women, who seemed to have the least reason to laugh. I invited six women to my studio for fun making each other laugh, while we shared food and stories. I suspected that a laugh, when frozen in a photograph, might appear to be a scream or an expression of pain.
53
54
55
56
57
Dogs Various locations, 1998
59
60
Man’s best friend is here photographed in the same way as the men in the series Five White Males. Dogs have no inhibitions about showing their vulnerability and affection to those who love and care for them.
61
62
63
64
65