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Hendrik Kerstens: Paula
I’m moving next week. I’ve lived in my current apartment for over two years, and I’m in quite a tizzy, throwing out and recycling and paring ...
I’m moving next week. I’ve lived in my current apartment for over two years, and I’m in quite a tizzy, throwing out and recycling and paring down. It’s strange to look through all you’ve accumulated in the last year and figure out what to keep. Also, nostalgia-inducing.
I was in such a mood last night when I came upon an old box of hair dye. Dark Brown. I’m no stranger to new hair colors, but this seemed like an especially apropos moment to take on a new guise. This morning, I’m not so sure. I look different. Really different.
SO, this made me think about photography, naturally. In particular, Hendrik Kerstens‘ portraits of his daughter Paula. They’re like paintings. They’re beautiful; I like to see her change.
You can see lots of these and read more about Kerstens at the Witzenhausen Gallery site (incidentally, they rep a ton of good people)… but here are some of Paula that I really like.
“Brace” just kills me.
black cap, 2006
pullover, 2007
pimp up towel, 2006
pimp up cap, 2006
pimp up peel, 2006
blond, 2007
pimp up louis, 2006
brace, 2005
cap, 2001
hairnet, 2000
“One day Paula came back from horseback riding. She took off her cap
and I was struck by the image of her hair held together by a hair-net.
It reminded me of the portraits by the Dutch masters and I portrayed
her in that fashion. After that I started to do more portraits in which
I refer to the paintings of that era. The thing that fascinates me in
particular is the way a seventeenth-century painting is seen as a
surface which can be read as a description of everyday life as opposed
to the paintings of the Italian Renaissance, which usually tell a
story. Northern European painting relies much more on craftsmanship and
the perfect rendition of the subject. The use of light is instrumental
in this.”
bathing cap, 1992
___
sigh.
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