NY Perspectives
New Yorks photographers discover Amsterdam
Exhibition
Stadsarchief Amsterdam
Vijzelstraat 32
Amsterdam
Public Transport with tramway #16, #24 and #25 from the Central Station, stop Keizersgracht
More information: phone +31 (0)20 – 2511510
Opening times
- Tuesday till friday 10.00 – 17.00 hrs
- Saturday and Sunday 11.00 – 17.00 hrs
- Adults 4 euros. Children till 12 years free entrance and from 12 till 18 years 2 euros.
- Friends of the Stadsarchief, Rembrandtkaart, Club_Foam, Foam_fan and Foam_fund free entrance.
- Archiefpas, Stadspas, Pas 65+, CJP, I Amsterdam Card, Museumjaarkaart 2 euros.
The entrance fee includes a multimediatour.
Guided tour
On request g 80,–, entrance fee not included.
To mark Hudson’s 400th anniversary, Amsterdam City Archives and Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, in cooperation with the John Adams Institute, are organising a photo exhibition about Amsterdam, as seen through the eyes of New York photographers.
- See also www.nyperspectives.com
Carl Wooley
Carl Wooley (1977) was surprised at how tranquil the streets of Amsterdam are after sunset. For his series Night he rode his bicycle through the dark city and found himself drawn to the same kind of spaces as in New York – unintended landscapes that are a by-product of human development. At night the glow of artificial light draws attention to their strangeness. Due to long exposures the hyper-real quality of the images shows what would otherwise be invisible to the human eye. The sense of suspended animation is intensified; either something has just happened, or it is about to.
Gus Powell
“Before I was a photographer, I was a pedestrian”, says Gus Powell (1974). For his series Voetganger (Pedestrian) he walked around the unknown streets of Amsterdam and was both at once. Most of the pedestrians have a destination, but his walk was unplanned and unpredictable, only guided by a sort of visual hunger. He was surprised by the openness of Dutch houses with their large windows. He looked at how the light reflects and turns windows into mirrors. The New Yorker got inspired to play a game with inside-outside and supposed reality.
Richard Rothman
During his stay in Amsterdam Richard Rothman (1956) was fortunate to be in a houseboat docked in one of the canals. The city struck him as a kind of idealised version of New York City, enclosed and permeated by water. In his series Water the city’s nature plays a key role. He took precise blackandwhite photographs in which the foliage of the many trees planted along Amsterdam’s waterways forms a screen through which the city and the water shimmer indistinctly. He also photographed the people who live in houseboats, a typical feature of Amsterdam culture.
Joshua Lutz
For his series Borders Joshua Lutz (1975) explored the outskirts of Amsterdam. He found a divers area, with the occasional American influence. A Cadillac in the carport of a pseudo Frank Lloyd Wright villa, or a Sizzling Wok restaurant lighting up the night sky with its neon signs. He encountered small communities that have withdrawn into their self-defined territory. The photographer shows that he is particularly attracted to the unmanicured aspects of landscapes that have managed to escape the clutches of urban planners.