Strike a Pose.

Expectations can kill anything but the pressure to feel like you “had fun” while you are on vacation is a burden which is hard to escape. I find this to be especially true with what I call “Last Day” syndrome. Everything seems fine and dandy until you are about to leave somewhere and you realize you have to do something major that will leave a positive impression in your mind. Doing three countries in three weeks left three bouts of “Last Day” syndrome to deal with and they were met with exciting results. For a few moments I thought that string of good luck was going to come crashing down on my final day in Amsterdam.

After awaking to my first “egg” breakfast of the whole tour which satisfied my palette at the cute coffee shop “Barneys” Blaine and I set out to squeeze in the last culture of the tour. My Amsterdam “Time Out” guide was wearing thin and the dog-eared pages were quickly getting checked off the list. I figured we could always spend the day by befriending some Red-Light girls but I longed for something more. Deciding that we would probably end up dead if we rented bikes we settled on the random choice of “Foam” the Photography museum.

Right up there with video-installation, photography has always been an art form whose charms haven’t fully enticed me. Everyone admires photographs and I love taking my own, but the previous photography exhibits I have seen weren’t exactly spectacular. True to Amsterdam fashion, my tastes were being challenged left and right and turned upside down but none more so than my new view on photography. Perhaps it was the low expectations or the fatigue setting in but I loved and devoured every second I spent in Foam.

Some people may have heard of the international photography quarterly called “Foam,” the same company as this museum, which is more like an enlarged gallery space than a museum. Consisting of three floors with about 10 rooms, this was one of the most varied exhibitions I have ever seen. We started out on the first floor with what ended up being my favorite portion of the day titled “No Eyes: The Dancing Bear Collection of W.M. Hunt.”

Basically what this consisted of was about 100 photographs where there was no direct contact between the camera and the eyes of the subject therefore presenting an almost disjointed viewing process. Even in the closest portraits of the face, the eyes are turned away which makes all of the pictures seem like true moments in time captured and then released on the print. They don’t come across as voyeuristic but instead retain the beauty of stolen moments that we feel fortunate enough to see. The introduction to the exhibit said it wanted to play with the ides of what it means to be seen vs. what it means to see.

Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe, Roger Mayne, Debbie Gafry, Suzanne Opton, David LaChappelle….just a handful of the photographers contained in this collection. I hadn’t ever seen Richard Avedon’s work before but the two pictures on display here, one of Nureyev and one of Sophia Loren were some of the most beautifully captured motion shots I have ever seen. What was amazing about these two works but also the exhibit as a whole was how well it captured the essence of a person without peering through the “windows to the soul.”

(Roger Mayne. One of my favorites from the exhibit.)

Branching off from this same idea was the top floor exhibit Ringel Goslinga’s “Family Tree” which consists of portraits of everyone involved in the artists life except the artist himself. Yet just like we are able to capture the essence of the subjects in “No Eyes,” we begin to form a picture of Goslinga by only seeing those who surround him.

The main attraction at Foam right now is “People of the 20th Century,” a sociological photo experiment by August Sander. Broken into seven different groups: Farmers, Skilled Tradesmen, Women, Professionals, Artists, The City and the Last People, this had no political aspirations but became a stunning representation of the class system of the 20th century. It reminded me a lot of “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” just without the corresponding text. Primarily portraits, there were some incredible photographs but almost too many to fully appreciate them all.

(One of the best from the "Women" section. A German Radio Secretary.)

Leaving Foam on an artistic high, there seemed to be nowhere to go but down as our Amsterdam time was ticking away. We were unwilling to let this be the end of the day and were fortunate enough to make a call from a phone booth to reserve tickets for none other than Nederlands Dans Theater. Not only was I going to get to see one of the greatest companies in the world but they were performing in Rotterdam, birthplace of Mr. Willem de Kooning.

Little did we know what a drama Rotterdam would end up being when we got on the train. Located an hour away from Amsterdam, we got on the train two hours before the show was to start in Rotterdam only to come to an abrupt stop about 40 minutes into our ride. Stepping out onto the platform, all we heard was Dutch sandwiching the words “Rotterdam Central” through the speakers. As I frantically searched out someone to explain, we were informed that no trains were going any further due to a computer malfunction. I had already had one disastrous theater experience in London, I was not about to let this night end on a train platform. We met up with Jackie and Pik on the platform and decided to just get on the next train and sit until we got there. By this time it was 7:40 and the show started at 8:15.

(Pik and Jackie with some random sexy man on the train to Rotterdam. Trying to have fun even though we are stressing about making it there.)

7:45-still on the train.
7:55-still on the train.
8- creeping through the countryside. Still on the train and starting to sweat from anger.

At 8:05 we jumped of the train and started exploded in every direction like fireworks. Not only were we late but we had no idea where we were going and after waiting patiently for a woman to meticulously explain the directions, we bolted. Turning corners as frantically as someone who just robbed a bank, we finally saw the theater in the distance. I haven’t run since about 7th grade, and even then I found every excuse to get out of it, so I was huffing and puffing my way across Rotterdam and only could hope the prize at the end would be worth it.

Was it ever! I have seen clips of Nederlands Dans Theater before but seeing them in person is a whole different ball game. The way that these people move seesaws between meticulous precision and languid melting that transcends any “normal” form of movement. It doesn’t hurt that they were performing works by Kylian, Forsythe and (unknown to me) Crystal Pite.

As soon as we had collapsed in our seats, the curtain rose to show 8 women slow motion running forward into 8 pools of light. From there everything seems like a heavenly blur of movement choreographed by Kylian. Titled “Falling Angels” the piece let 8 women alternate between group work, solos and duets while never leaving the stage and being accompanied by a series of drummers. Some of the movement was playful, other parts aggressive but all of it was strikingly beautiful and musical. The real kicker was that it was choreographed in 1989 yet looks as if it could have been made yesterday. Best (and worst) of all, it was only 10 minutes which left you craving more. What a way to start a night.

(Looking down during the first intermission.)

The second piece was titled “The Second Person” and began with a slightly gimmicky bit of puppetry before starting a piece that stretched on far too long. Fortunately the movement was for the most part beautiful and danced by the incredible dancers, could never look bad. Unfortunately, I thought it was all trying to be a little too “deep” and in the end whatever message it was attempting to get across was lost on me. Like my favorite choreographer Ohad Naharin, it contained some powerful sections of unison and nice variations through the movement.

Closing the program was a piece by William Forsythe titled “Quintet” which as you may guess contained five dancers. Seeing the works of Forsythe and Kylian on the same program made it apparent to me that I prefer Kylian as far as contemporary ballet choreographers go. Forsythe’s vocabulary becomes repetitive and too often is successful because of the dancers. Now, don’t get me wrong, he’s a genius but this piece was a little repetitive for me. However, it was the most different piece of his I have ever seen. Less aggressive than usual, it had a hypnotic playfulness to it that was refreshing to see. It looks like it would be incredible to dance this with your friends. The audience reaction to all of these works was subdued by US standards but complementary nonetheless.

(How very "summer program" of us. Doing our best Forsythe pose.)

Walking out of the theater with my NDT merchandise in tow, I couldn’t believe I had gotten to see one of the best companies on my final night in Amsterdam. I can hardly believe it now as I flip through the program. Hopping back on the train the odd realization hopped on my shoulder that this was it and the next day would begin my long journey home. Best not to think of it though, instead I would just try to enjoy the train ride and the walk from the station to my hotel under the peaceful night sky.

(Riding the train with no worries about delays.)

Comments

[tonya]

The photography exhibit sounds really interesting. I love Avedon -- I think he was a genius at capturing celebrities in unexpected ways, and he was a great fashion photographer as well. Have you read John Berger's "Ways of Seeing?" I'm going to look up Foam when I get a chance!

I think this is regarding another post, but I love Schiele! (am happy and surprised to learn David does too?!) I love art that stands out and "says something." There was a pretty good exhibit of his work here at the Neue (sp?) Museum about a year or so ago.

I love hearing your views of art! It definitely doesn't bore me!