‎KORS VAN BENNEKOM‎

‎De Familie Van Bennekom‎

‎Amsterdam, Bert Bakker. 1990, First Edition. (ISBN: 9035109422) Paperback, 219 x 228 Mm. Pages unnumbered, throughout illustrated in full page B&W photographs. Text in Dutc by J. Bernlef and Josephine van Bennekom. A wonderfull image of a family and a time.

Bennekom, Kors van (1933)

Kors van Bennekom's first photo book, De Familie van Bennekom, appeared in 1990, followed by Twee planken en een hartstocht. 35 Jaar theaterfotografie (Two boards and a passion: 35 years of theatre photography) in 1993; Kors van Bennekom. Amsterdam van restauratie naar revolte 1956-1966 appeared in November, 2002. These publications reflect the three components which comprise Van Bennekom's work: the family, theatre and journalistic photography. The first book tells the unembellished story of his family growing up, a process that the photographer followed with his camera for almost fifty years. He has an apparently guileless manner of photographing that results in relaxed photographs, with no taboos. His second book provides an image of Amsterdam's changing artistic life between 1956 and 1991. In those years Van Bennekom worked for the communist daily De Waarheid (1956-1965), was a co-founder of the Uitkrant voor Amsterdammers (a culture and entertainment periodical) for which he would photograph until 1992, and also served as house photographer for various theatre companies, orchestras and museums.
The standpoint from which he regards theatre is innovative. He feels himself at one with the actors on the stage and depicts the play through their eyes, so that in his photographs the public can see what it is in essence all about. The third book gives a picture of Van Bennekom's street photography. The images afford a good insight into the other side of the postwar Reconstruction and the consequences of the Cold War. Together with Freek Aal, Dolf Kruger and others, Kors van Bennekom photographed the actions of the Dutch Communist Party for adequate housing, against nuclear weapons, against evictions and against the release of Nazi war criminals, but also recorded Dutch soldiers embarking for New Guinea and meetings of the Dutch Women's Movement and the General Dutch Youth Association, both allied to the Dutch Communist Party. He repeatedly did portraits of a number of prominent leaders such as Paul de Groot and Marcus Bakker, or photographed them in the company of other Party elite. In addition, for De Waarheid and the cultural periodical Uilenspiegel (also allied to the Party) Van Bennekom photographed performances of Ella Fitzgerald, Edith Piaf and Louis Armstrong, for instance, and Dutch artists such as Max Tailleur, Johan Kaart and Wim Sonneveld.
 
Kors van Bennekom developed his own unique, dynamic visual vocabulary in which movement plays an important role. His idealistic view of the world led to an accessible, 'open' sort of photography. He goes to work purposefully, and in photographing takes into account the readers of the paper, whether that be De Waarheid or the Uitkrant. In his family photographs too he strives for a clear and well-defined image through which the subject comes across unambiguously. Van Bennekom is able to extract the maximum from people and situations with a minimum of means. Mutual respect is the key. His passion for photography is great. He always has one or more cameras at hand.
Kors van Bennekom renders his love for Amsterdam and its residents without beating around the bush. In his theatre photographs he testifies to his respect for everyone who creates a three-dimensional presentation from a script. And at home he finds the serenity to express his ideas about family life in romantic photographs. With the private photographs Van Bennekom perhaps creates the security that he earlier lacked. This work represents a unique value by international standards. Year in and year out, in an inimitable way he represented the cycle of human life. His photographs bear witness to a sincere, engaged vision of humankind, and of his wife Ine in particular.

 

 

Biography

1933 Lodewijk (Kors) van Bennekom is born on July 13 in Amsterdam.
1941-46 Kors's father is arrested by the Germans as a communist. His mother is admitted to sanatoriums various times with tuberculosis. Kors is cared for by family and in a foster home.
1947 Kors is officially registered in an advanced elementary education programme in Amsterdam, but spends more time wandering the streets.
1948-53 He works in a photography shop cum opticians and takes a three year evening course as an instrument maker. Van Bennekom begins to photograph with a 9 x 12 glass plate camera.
1952 Van Bennekom becomes active in the General Dutch Youth Association (the youth movement of the Dutch Communist Party), and meets Ine van der Schaaf, who works on the Party newspaper De Waarheid.
1953 He travels to the World Youth Festival in Bucharest with a borrowed Voigtländer. He is conscripted for military service in October.
1954 Van Bennekom wins two prizes with his Bucharest reportage in a photography contest organised by the Army Welfare Service. He begins a correspondence course in photography with the Fotovakschool in Apeldoorn.
1955 Van Bennekom returns to the photo shop/opticians and does wedding and commercial photography. He borrows money to purchase a Rolleicord. He uses this camera when in his free time he accompanies Ine in her work as a reporter for De Waarheid.
1956 Kors and Ine wed on March 1. Van Bennekom fills in for Dolf Kruger during his vacation at De Waarheid, and later that year is appointed as a regular photographer.
1957 Daughter Josephine is born. Ine is dismissed as a result of cutbacks at De Waarheid. Van Bennekom submits work to a photography contest for young photographers during the World Youth Festival in Moscow under his usual name, L. van Bennekom Jr. Jury member Ad Windig mistakes this name for that of the much older Lood van Bennekom and disqualifies the photographs. The family moves in with Ine's parents.
1958 Daughter Janine is born.
1960 Family moves into rented accommodations of their own.
1961-62 Van Bennekom cooperates on the exhibition Dag Amsterdam in the Stedelijk Museum. Still another confusion of names occurs in the catalogue; his photographs are listed under the name L.H. van Bennekom. Van Bennekom becomes a member of the GKf. At the advice of Carel Blazer he changes his first name to Kors (his mother's maiden name) to prevent further confusion.
1964 Son Joris is born
1965 Van Bennekom resigns from De Waarheid and strikes out on his own. He receives his first business commission (Salon- en Wagenbouw).
1966 He becomes photographer for 8 Vanavond, later to become the Uitkrant voor Amsterdammers. Meanwhile he photographs anti-Vietnam war demonstrations, the construction worker's strike, and the rioting accompanying the marriage of Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus. He becomes the regular photographer for the Kunstmaand Orchestra (later the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, presently The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra).
1969 Van Bennekom takes part in the group exhibition of theatre photographers Theater in Blik at the Theatre Museum, Amsterdam.
1970 For the GKf he organises Mooie Vrijheid!? in the New Church in Amsterdam, and for the first time insists on reimbursement of expenses and hanging costs for participating photographers. Van Bennekom becomes chairman of the GKf. Ine does the secretarial work at home. He works occasionally for the Centrum Theatre Group and the Nederlandse Comedie.
1971 Van Bennekom cooperates on the Stedelijk Jaarverslag (Municipal Annual Report) for Amsterdam. Photographer Carel Blazer asks him to take over a part of the work for OGEM. The collaboration lasts somewhat over three years.
1972 Van Bennekom accompanies the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra on its tour to Moscow, Leningrad and Vilnius.
1973 He wins the top prize - an automobile - in the contest Mens in vrije tijd. The Public Theatre asks him to be house photographer. A commission from the ministry of Culture, Recreation and Social Work results in the travelling exhibition Boer en Grond (Farmer and land).
1974 Van Bennekom is the first photographer to be invited by the Visual Arts Foundation to provide work for the loan collection.
1975 In a commission from the Amsterdam Fund for Art he photographs on the theme of unemployment. At the request of the Ministry of Culture he documents the flight of Surinamers to The Netherlands. Van Bennekom photographs the musical De engel van Amsterdam, marking the city's 700th anniversary.
1976-77 Van Bennekom's solo exhibition Volk voor de kunst, 10 jaar Uitkrant (People for art: 10 years of Uitkrant) takes place in the Theatre Museum. He becomes house photographer for the Centrum Theatre Group, Sater, Persona, Poetry Out Loud, the Amsterdam People's Theatre and the Carré theatre.
1978 Beginning of his collaboration with John de Crane, impresario of autonomous theatre productions.
1980 Van Bennekom and Joost Guntenaar receive the commission for De groot- en klein-schaligheid in de landbouw en de visserij (Large and small scale agriculture and fishery) from the Dutch history department of the Rijksmuseum.
1981 Commencement of the long cooperation with the Agriculture and Market Garden Public Relations Foundation.
1982 Van Bennekom begins photographing for the annual AUB-gids, the theatre season brochure for Amsterdam.
1984-85 He becomes house photographer for Dogtroep, the Lyric Comedy, Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Music Theatre. He becomes photo editor for Naturisme.
1986 Gezin Gezien (Family seen), the first exhibition of Kors's family photographs, takes place in the New Church during Foto '86.
1987-88 The Amsterdam Municipal Archive purchases 50 photographs from the years 1956-60. Van Bennekom photographs for the National Ballet and the Music Theatre. He documents In de naam van de maan, Cats, Freek de Jong's De goeroe en de dissident, the André van Duin Revue and the musical Barnum. The Stedelijk Museum, IJsbreker and De Kosmos ask for photo reportages of events on their premises.
1989 The Amsterdam Historical Museum shows the solo exhibition Binnen en Buiten gewoon.
1990 Publication of his first photo book, De Familie van Bennekom.
1991 Kors withdraws from editing the Uitkrant.
1992-93 A grant from the Fund for Visual Art, Architecture and Design enables Van Bennekom to begin reviewing his archive. This results in the photo book Twee planken en een hartstocht. 35 jaar theaterfotografie, and the exhibition of the same title in the Dutch Theatre Institute. As a promotional gift, Thomas Rap Publishers issue the booklet 1933, with photographic portraits of famous sixty-year-olds, among them Kors himself.
1994 The negative archives of De Waarheid are catalogued with the assistance of the Netherlands Photo Archives. The Amazon Foundation and the University of Amsterdam Women's Studies Research Group ask Van Bennekom to photograph boys for the ‘Take Care’ and the Caring Professions project.
1996-2000 He becomes house photographer for the newly established theatre company Het Toneel Speelt. The small books Hoe foto op verhaal komt, Kort Auto Nieuws. Het autoverkeer in Nederland rond 1960 and Ereronde appear. He photographs work with senior citizens in Amsterdam North for the Senior Welfare Foundation and does reportage for the Leo Polak House nursing home.
2000 The exhibition Ine Reflected takes place in the Fotoforum/De Elleboogkerk in Amersfoort. During the Studio Route in Nieuwendam he shows Double Portraits of Participating Artists.
2001 Commissioned by the Amsterdam Fund for Art, for an event and book project, Van Bennekom photographs artworks in public space. Kors van Bennekom: Retrospective is shown in Fotogram Gallery and he takes part in From IJ to Zee: 125 years of the North Sea Canal.
2002 Van Bennekom's photographs are shown during Eye to Eye: Contemporary Dutch Photography, organised by the Amsterdam Visual Art Foundation in Kunsthal De Remise

Bibliography

Primary
De familie van Bennekom, Uitgeverij Bert Bakker, 1990
Twee planken en een hartstocht. 35 Jaar theaterfotografie, Uitgeverij Thomas Rap, 1993
Hoe foto op verhaal komt, Uitgeverij Scheltema Holkema Vermeulen, 1994
Kort autonieuws. Het autoverkeer in Nederland rond 1960, Citroën, 1996
Ereronde. Een fotograaf en vijfentwintig schrijvers, Uitgeverij Thomas Rap, 1996
Kors van Bennekom. Amsterdam van restauratie naar revolte 1956-1966, Uitgeverij Bas Lubberhuizen, november 2002

Secondary
Josephine van Bennekom, ‘Kors van Bennekom’, Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse fotografie in monografieën en thema-artikelen, Antwerpen/Amsterdam 1984-, nr. 29, November, 1997
Marie Louise Schipper, ‘Kors is een jonkie’, De Groene, July 15, 1998
Martin Bril, ‘Een levensloop volgens het familiealbum van Kors van Bennekom. Vensters op het leven’, Het Parool PS, week 6, May, 2000
Leo Divendal, ‘Muze en marmelade’, Foto, May, 2000
Fran van der Hoeven, ‘Kors van Bennekom portfolio’, Hollands Licht, second quarter, 2002

 


Op 19-aug-09 om 14:05:43 CEST heeft de verkoper de volgende informatie toegevoegd:


Use the FREE Counters 1 million sellers do - Vendio!