Description:
The ocean—a gaze: The artist Rineke Dijkstra (*1959) portrays young people looking directly into the camera on various beaches around the world—in Poland, Great Britain, Ukraine, Croatia and the United States. The carefully composed photographs are a search for the essence of human existence: sensitive encounters in which the artist also raises questions about authenticity and truthfulness in portrait photography.
In the “Beach Portraits” series, created mainly in the 1990s, Dijkstra links the young people portrayed across national borders through a consistent composition. Set against the serene, basic background of the sea and reduced in context and clothing, the focus is entirely on the subjects, their characters and their youthful naturalness, which are manifested in the tiniest nuances of facial expression and posture—especially when, despite their best efforts, their emotional worlds are revealed. As a result, these powerful portraits become timeless images that embody the human condition, full of uncertainty, curiosity and the search for identity. Through their unique visual language, which draws on art historical references ranging from the works of Sandro Botticelli to August Sander, among others, Dijkstra’s photographs express a contemporary historical view of the post-Cold War era.
Publication Date: 2003
Publisher: LaSalle Bank, N.A.
Condition: Very Good
Book Size: 9.75 x 0.5 x 13.25 inches
Pages: 72
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 10-097024522X
Description:
The ocean—a gaze: The artist Rineke Dijkstra (*1959) portrays young people looking directly into the camera on various beaches around the world—in Poland, Great Britain, Ukraine, Croatia and the United States. The carefully composed photographs are a search for the essence of human existence: sensitive encounters in which the artist also raises questions about authenticity and truthfulness in portrait photography.
In the “Beach Portraits” series, created mainly in the 1990s, Dijkstra links the young people portrayed across national borders through a consistent composition. Set against the serene, basic background of the sea and reduced in context and clothing, the focus is entirely on the subjects, their characters and their youthful naturalness, which are manifested in the tiniest nuances of facial expression and posture—especially when, despite their best efforts, their emotional worlds are revealed. As a result, these powerful portraits become timeless images that embody the human condition, full of uncertainty, curiosity and the search for identity. Through their unique visual language, which draws on art historical references ranging from the works of Sandro Botticelli to August Sander, among others, Dijkstra’s photographs express a contemporary historical view of the post-Cold War era.
Publication Date: 2003
Publisher: LaSalle Bank, N.A.
Condition: Very Good
Book Size: 9.75 x 0.5 x 13.25 inches
Pages: 72
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 10-097024522X