By(e) Ed! Finissage Ed van der Elsken

Ask a photographer, “Who is your muse? What is your inspiration?” and expect a variety of references and contemporary interpretations in return. With these questions, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam heralds the final weekend of the exhibition Ed van der Elsken – Camera in Love. A finissage party on Friday evening, including pop-up presentations of young makers, gallery talks, performances, and workshops, plus the announcement of the winners of the Ed van der Elsken photo competition, will place the exhibition’s works from the 1950s to the ’90s in the now.

PROGRAM

Download the timeschedule here

18:30 – 19:00 pre-program| Drinks (Audi Gallery 0.1)
19:00 – 22:00 pop-up | Maarten van der Kamp, Dennis Duijnhouwer & Matthijs Diederiks (Gallery 1.30)
19:00 – 22:00 pop-up | Workshops  (meeting point Audi Gallery 0.1)
19:00 – 19:20 gallery talk | Hripsimé Visser (starts in gallery 1.15)
19:30 – 20:00 performance | Muse whisperers (starts in Zadelhof Café)
19:30 – 20:30 pop-up | portfolio viewing with Jan Hoek (meeting point Audi Gallery 0.1)
20:00 – 20:20 gallery talk | Manique Hendricks (starts in gallery 1.15)
20:30 – 21:00 debate led by Andrea van Pol | Hripsimé Visser, Robin de Puy & Perre van den Brink (auditorium)
20:30 – 20:45 performance | Roberta Petzoldt (Studio B)
21:00 – 21:15 photo competition prizewinners | (gallery 1.07)
21:30 – 21:45 performance | Raaf and Rover (various locations in the museum building)

POP-UP: PRESENTATION

Street photographers Maarten van der Kamp, Dennis Duijnhouwer, and Matthijs Diederiks offer a one-time showcase of their work this evening in the context of Camera in Love, and will give short presentations about their working process.
Although the work of these three photographers differs greatly, a substantial overlap can be seen in their subject, technique, and method with respect to Ed van der Elsken’s films and photographs. Dennis Duijnhouwer will focus on the role that different muses have in his work. For Matthijs Diederiks, the emphasis is mainly on technique and the interchange between photography and film. Visually, the black-and-white analog photos of Maarten van der Kamp are closest to Van der Elsken’s work, and are especially interesting in terms of their subject and process. What does it mean to be a street photographer today?Curator: Manique Hendricks 

POP-UP: WORKSHOPS

In connection with the exhibition, the Stedelijk organised a series of workshops on photography. Sanne de Wilde, Exactitutes (Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek) and Jan Hoek gave a workshop inviting participants to try out different roles – love, traveller or hunter. The results are on view throughout the evening.

Would you like to know what a professional photographer thinks of your work? Jan Hoek is returning to the Stedelijk for this special evening, when he’ll discuss the work of Stedelijk visitors. Make sure you get a place at Jan Hoek’s portfolio review session! Send your photo and contact details to: n.ankersmit@stedelijk.nl. Places are limited, so book early!

GALLERY TALKS

Hripsimé Visser is a conservator of photography at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and curator of the exhibition Ed van der Elsken – Camera in Love. She has been working for the Stedelijk since 1990, where she oversees the collection policy for photography and has organized a large number of photographers’ exhibitions, including Jeff Wall (2014), Rineke Dijkstra (2004), Sam Taylor-Wood (2002), and Thomas Struth (1998). Hripsimé will give a speed tour about Ed van der Elsken’s love life.

Manique Hendricks worked as a conservator in training on the exhibition Ed van der Elsken – Camera in Love. During her education at the MA Museum Conservator program at the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, she specialized in photography and youth culture. In addition to the Ed van der Elsken exhibition, she has also been involved in collection presentations at the Stedelijk Museum. Manique will give a speed tour this evening of the photos that Ed van der Elsken made in Japan.

PERFORMANCES

During the finissage in the Stedelijk Museum, Meduse MagiQ will put together a performance program inspired by muses. Meduse MagiQ is an art collective based in Amsterdam and dedicated to creating, stimulating, and presenting a world of audiovisual arts. Vali Myers, a magical woman and Ed van der Elsken’s recurring muse, is Meduse MagiQ’s inspiration for the performance program’s theme. or this evening’s event, Meduse MagiQ has gathered a group of muse whisperers who, blending very discretely into the audience, will speak with soft voices about the sources of inspiration for artists and will carry on whispered conversations with museum visitors. The anonymous artist duo of Raaf and Rover will investigate the concept of the muse through sound. “Look,” says a voice while the subject is looking directly into the camera. The glance is shy, curious, and occasionally aloof as the voice gives commands. Through sounds and recurring fragments of stories, you find yourself in the head of the person looking at the muse. Is there any distance between the muse and the observer? Could muse and spectator be the same person? Sharpen your ears and discover the sound of the muse wandering through the exhibition spaces. Roberta Petzoldt works as a poet, performer, and actress, and is familiar with many forms of appearance. She’s sometimes a time loop, sometimes a desk lamp, sometimes a reflection, and sometimes a thunderstorm. She was six years old when she first saw Vali Meyers, in the book Eye Love You by Ed van der Elsken. Petzoldt found her scary and fascinating. Meyers’s complete authenticity and lack of compromise showed her that she did not have to conform, that it was not necessary to adapt. In this performance, Petzoldt tells how Meyers inspired her to diverge from the straight path and withdraw into the wilderness.

JURY DEBATE AND WINNERS OF THE PHOTO CONTEST

Ed van der Elsken was a unique figure. The first true Dutch street photographer, he roamed cities like Paris, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Tokyo seeking out colourful personalities, head-turning young women and wayward youth. As a photographer, he was always on the lookout for a brief moment of intimacy. 
For the photo contest Camera in Love, the Stedelijk Museum challenged everyone to search for that one meaningful or special look and share the image via social media. All submissions have been reviewed by the jury consisting of Hripsimé Visser (conservator photography), Robin de Puy (photographer) and Perre van den Brink (creative director VICE). Moderator: Andrea van Pol.