THE ART OF HENDRIK KERSTENS

Hendrik Kerstens is a Dutch artist whose photography is quite extraordinary.  I think you will agree when you view them as well.  He is a new artist to me and perhaps to you, but he is quite worth of us learning more about.

THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF HENDRIK KERSTENS                     FROM GOOGLE SOLEY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES

Hendrik Kerstens   

"when hendrik kerstens decided to dedicate himself entirely to photography in 1995, he turned to a model very near at hand: his daughter paula. he wanted to document all the important moments in her life, to ‘be there’, to capture something of the fleeting moments that fade from memory all too quickly. the inquisitive eye of the photographer plays an important part in the process: he sets out to catch a glimpse of his subject’s secret being and tries to understand what it is he sees.

  Google Image  for educational purposes only

he is fascinated and amazed by the fact that every human being, no matter how familiar, is ‘other’, a mystery that can never be completely unravelled. the project became known as ‘paula pictures’, one of which went on to win the panl-award.

something else is going on in kerstens’ photographs. time and time again he uses his daughter as a model, immortalizing her, as if to stop time and oblivion.

Hendrik Kerstens   for educational purposes only

not only does he picture her in relation to events in her own life, he also projects on her his fascination with the dutch painters of the seventeenth century." source  Wizenhausen Gallery Biography.  

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Fairest of them all?

Rembrandt Van Rijn

Rembrandt enjoyed painting himself, in fact, he enjoyed it so much he painted over eighty self-portraits! (source The Secret Lives of Master Artists)

                                 from google image              for educational purposes only

Love this quote...I think it speaks to many artists, it is our own calling, our way of seeing, as artists that makes us special.  If we heed to others view of what we should do or be, then we are not listening to our inner artist that guides us best.  Sometimes it is hard to be true to oneself, when there is a chorus of others...art critics, the general public, family or friend, and our own inner critic that are always there.  And we also have to know that there are times we must grow and listen to teachers or others, but we are the ones that must trust and be true to that inner creator.

"Of course you will say I ought to be practical and ought to try and paint the way they want me to paint. Well, I will tell you a secret.  I  have tried and tried very hard, but I can't do it.  I just can't do it!  And that is why I am a little bit crazy!" Rembrandt