f o a m winter 2009/#21 nmw.foammagazine.nl international ...

f o a mwinter 2009/#21nmw.foammagazine.nlinternationalphotographymagazineBroomberg & ChanarinClaerboutTarkovskyUmbricoWählstrandFreudenthal / VerhagenvanDuijvenbodenHatakeyama

foam magazine #21 / mergeeditorialE d i t o r i a lMarloes Krijnen, director Foam_FotografiemuseumAmsterdamA striking characteristic of the way many young artists work today isthat they are far less attached to one single discipline than artists inthe past. There are visual artists who make use of all sorts of media toexpress themselves, depending totally on the content to be expressed.This sometimes takes place within a specific oeuvre; sometimes differentmedia are even used within one specific artwork. Photography isalso being made use of by visual artists who do not define themselvesas photographers. Concurrently, there are also photographers who areconscious of a photographic tradition and who feel at home within thattradition, but who likewise do not hesitate to undergo cross-fertilizationwith other media. Much of this work expresses a gratifying nonconformity,sometimes even a somewhat anarchistic air, by which thecontent dictates the form. Such a close relationship between photographyand other media often leads to new, unexpected manifestations,which shine a new light on the nature and substance of the medium andplaces known certainties under discussion. This bond of photographywith other media is the focal point of this issue of Foam Magazine.We have succeeded in putting together eight portfolios in which photographyrelates to another medium in a surprising, and hopefully alsoinspiring way. Penelope Umbrico uses the Internet as a fertile source forher images. Her series Broken Sets (eBay) consists of bordered shots ofbroken LCD screens which were offered for sale on eBay. The abstractand intriguing patterns on the screens recall modernist paintings. Bycollecting image material from Internet, processing it and placing itin a new context, Umbrico redefines the problem of authorship. Completelydifferent is the work of Swedish artist Gunnel Wáhlstrand. Withgreat care and precision, she makes large format paintings from photoswhich give an impression of her father's early youth. The result ofthis time-consuming and concentrated way of working exhibits a fascinatingtension between technical reproduction and handwork, andinspires questions about the nature of representation and perception.At the foundation of the newest series by Adam Broomberg and OliverChanarin is a well-known 1979 photo of an execution in Iran during theIslamist Revolution. Broomberg and Chanarin use never-before-shownimage material of this execution and turn the documentary into anautonomous work on the complexity of historical events, the ambiguityof the reality and the influence of icons on our collective memory.In his series Scales, made in cooperation with the Canadian Centre forArchitecture in Montreal, Hatakeyama worked with a large number ofarchitectural models and created work that focuses on the tensionbetween architectural and photographic space. How different are thePolaroids that Russian filmmaker AndreyTarkovsky made in both Italyand Russia. The photos express longing, nostalgia and melancholy, butare at the same time a study for his film Nostalghia. David Claerboutmakes films as well, with photographic material sometimes at theirbasis. In his work, Claerbout investigates the intriguing relationshipbetween both media and focuses on the complex nature of our perceptionof time. The Dutch duo Freudenthal/Verhagen have worked with alarge number of fashion designers and produced very diverse work. Inthe work shown here, they explore the borders between fashion photography,art, sculpture and good taste. Finally, Nickel van Duijvenbodenis responsible for the portfolio that may push the limits of photograto its very edge: a portfolio without images, consisting solely of teLoyal readers of Foam Magazine will already have understood tthis issue consists of eight instead of the usual six portfolios. Starwith this issue, each Foam Magazine will now include this numbeportfolios: more image material, more content and more unexpecconnections. What remains the same are our regular features suchOn My Mind..., the interview with a prominent person from the wophotography - in this case Fred Ritchin, director of Pixel Press -our books section.-13

foam magazine #21 / mergecontentsC o n t e n t sOn My Mind...images selected byLaura Noble ~ Noel Rodo-Vankeulen ~Bettina von Zwehl ~ David Levi Strauss ~David Neuman ~ Monique van HeistPages 16-21Interviewwith Fred Ritchin by Brian PalmerAwakening the DigitalPages 22 - 26Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin 35-54~ AfterlifeBroomberg and Chanarin's latest project, Afterlife,is an investigation and a deconstruction of an iconicimage taken in 1979 that came to define a moment inboth Iranian and photographic history.Merge:Theme introductionA Journey Through a Hybrid Universeby Marcel FeilPages 27 - 34Portfolio Overview:Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin - AfterlifeText by David EvansPages 35-54David Claerbout ~ Dancing CouplesText by Lieze EnemanPages 55 - 74Andrey Tarkovsky - Bright, Bright DayText by Aveek SenPages 75-94Penelope Umbrico - Broken Sets (eBay)Text by Lyle RexerPages 95-114Gunnel Wählstrand ~ UntitledText by Aaron SchumanPages 115-134Freudenthal / Verhagen ~ Holy House & PolyhedraText by Susan BrightPages 135-154Nickel van Duijvenboden - The Grand Absence/PlateauText by Alex KleinPages 155-174Naoya Hatakeyama ~ ScalesText by Hubertus von AmelunxenPages 175-194David Claerbout 55-74~ Dancing CouplesDavid Claerbout's video work Dancing Couples,here presented as a series of stills, experiments withnotions of temporality.Photobooksby Sebastian HauPages 196-199Foam_Fotografiemuseum AmsterdamExhibition ProgrammeAlexander Rodchenko - Revolution in PhotographyPages 201 - 216Andrey Tarkovsky 75 - 90~ Bright, Bright DayAndrey Tarkovsky took hundreds of Polaroids collectingmaterial, scenes and moods for his filmNostalghia. As a viewer you immediately recognizethe sublime light and dreamy atmosphere that distinguishhis visual language and his film making.

Penelope Umbrico~ Broken Sets (eBay)91-114 Nickel van Duijvenboden~ The Grand Absence / Plateau155-174Penelope Umbrico collects her material from theInternet. This time she focused on broken LCDscreens for sale on eBay. Abstract and beautiful, thepatterns remind us of modernist paintings.Using fiction as a mean of visualization Nickel vanDuijvenboden reflects in this entirely text-based portfolioon images and the boundaries of the mediumof photography.Gunnel Wahlstrand 115-134~ UntitledWith black ink, water and great precision, GunnelWahlstrand meticulously reconstructs the life of thefather she never got a chance to know.Naoya Hatakeyama 175 -194~ ScalesBased on a series commissioned by the CanadianArchitecture Centre, Naoya Hatakeyama's seriesScales is an attempt to investigate how architectureand three-dimensionality can be translated onto aflat surface.Freudenthal / Verhagen 135 -154~ Holy House & PolyhedraWith a humorous approach to daily life and a styleundeniably all of their own, the Dutch duo ofFreudenthal and Verhagen are using and abusingcontemporary imagery and photographic techniques.15