After two years, The Mix is coming home. This photo project - a series of four presentations - has been on view at various museums in the Netherlands in recent years. To create it, contemporary photographers were inspired by a photographer whose work is included in the Nederlands Fotomuseum’s collection. Not only did this result in astonishing combinations of photographers and works, it also demonstrates that the Nederlands Fotomuseum is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for new generations. In The Mix, contemporary photographers present new and personal perceptions of works in the Fotomuseum’s collection. For the first time, all four presentations in this photo series will be on show at the same time at the Nederlands Fotomuseum in an exhibition that opens on 15 September.
The Cow
Cas Oorthuys & Hans van der Meer
Originally, The Mix started with The Cow, a presentation that focuses on the changing world of the Dutch cow. The historic photographs made by Cas Oorthuys (1908-1975) and recent work by Hans van der Meer (1955) show how the Dutch land-scape and dairy farming have undergone dramatic changes over the last 70 years.
The Cow was realised in collaboration with the Fries Museum where it was on show from 1 October to 1 December 2016.
Mission
Paul Julien & Andrea Stultiens
The second presentation, Mission focuses on the photographic work of Paul Julien (1901-2001), an anthropologist and amateur photographer. For his anthropological research, Julien frequently travelled to Africa where he often made use there of the missionaries’ facilities and expertise. By the time he died, he had accumulated a sizable photography and film archive. For this presentation, Andrea Stultiens (1974) responded to the photos that Julien took during his travels through Liberia (1932) and Sudan (1933 & 1947). For this purpose, she made various journeys to these countries taking pictures made by Julien along with her. There, she consulted local specialists such as storytellers, journalists and photographers to collect stories related to Julian’s pictures with the aim of contributing to a nuanced perception of the huge and diverse African continent.
Mission was realised in collaboration with the Limburgs Museum where it was on show from 11 December 2016 to 26 March 2017.
Schiphol Slumberland
Frits J. Rotgans & Jannes Linders
Schiphol Slumberland presents the work of Frits J. Rotgans (1912-1978) taken at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol during the 60s and 70s next to new work by Jannes Linders (1955) that shows a very specific side of Schiphol in 2017. Each of these photographers presents his own radically different perception of the same familiar location: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
Schiphol Slumberland was realised in collaboration with the Nationaal Militair Museum where it was on show from 8 September 2017 to 7 January 2018.
The Forester
Adolphe Burdet & Blommers / Schumm
For The Forester, the photography duo Blommers / Schumm (1969) portrayed 19 foresters in nature conservation areas near the Dutch town of Egmond. Their source of inspiration for this series was the work of Adolphe Burdet (1860-1940) an early 20th-century nature photographer who made such incomparable use of his stereo vision camera to capture the natural world. His photography contributed to the public’s awareness of the need to protect the natural environment.
The Forester was realised in collaboration with Museum Kranenburgh where it was on display from 8 October 2017 to 7 January 2018.
The Mix
The Mix is a project that was developed by the Nederlands Fotomuseum and Rafaël Philippen with the support of the Mondriaan Fonds. The support provided by the Mondriaan Fonds enabled the Nederlands Fotomuseum to commission four Dutch photographers to create new autonomous work. The Nederlands Fotomuseum would like to thank the Fries Museum, Limburgs Museum, Nationaal Militair Museum and Museum Kranenburgh for their excellent collaboration.
