Of a different Nature, but ... from the same Planet, part 2

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.

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12

13

14

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Trash Coney Island, 1992

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cupsnest

beerpap

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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.

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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.

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Five White Males Brooklyn, 1994

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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.�

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Women Laughing New York City, 1996

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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.

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Dogs Various locations, 1998

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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.

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