The grey album - The Word Magazine

Volume 05 — Issue 02
Neighbourhood Life + Global Style
Neighbourhood Smart move Life The writing on the wall Style The third man
Music A shaded view Culture Stone cold + The photography special
The grey album
3
The editor’s letter
Publisher and editor-in-chief
Nicholas Lewis
Editorial assistant
Sarah Schug
Design
facetofacedesign +
pleaseletmedesign
Writers
Felicia Atkinson
Sabine Clappaert
Rose Kelleher
Nicholas Lewis
Philippe Pourhashemi
Sarah Schug
Sam Steverlynck
Robbert van Jaarsveld
Photographers/Illustrators
Ulrike Biets
Sarah Eechaut
Veerle Frissen
Pauline Miko
Melika Ngombe
Grégoire Pleynet
Virassamy
Intern
Anne Catharina Richard
For subscriptions (4 issues)
I never thought I’d say this, but doing this magazine has become rather boring.
The thing is, I’m not the guy who goes out and does the interviews or who takes the
photographs. I’m not the one who designs each and every page nor am I even the
one who proof reads them. No, I’m the (boring) guy who sits behind his desk day-in
day-out, planning, story-boarding and commissioning each story, shoot and feature
for others to carry-out. Fact is, I can’t remember the last time I left this office and
interviewed someone face-to-face.
So you can image my joy when time came for our yearly photography special.
Finally, I’d be able to get into the thick of it again. Interviews, studio visits, round
tables, portfolio views – the lot. Photography, you see, is my thing here at Word
HQ, and I got more than my money’s worth over the last few weeks. And what an
exciting last few weeks it has been, especially for Belgian photography.
There was the time we asked the heavy weights of Belgian photography to select
their pick of future home-grown talents. We had Dirk Braeckman selecting Max
Pinckers, Stephan Vanfleteren picking Thomas Sweertvaegher and Gilbert
Fastenaekens choosing Clément Montagne. And those are just some of the big
names whose opinion we enlisted. Then there was the round-table we hosted at
Contretype in Brussels, asking certain players of the local publishing game to
discuss the evolution of the coffee table book, and the possibility of it becoming
the new exhibition. We also paid tribute to the artisans without whom photography
wouldn’t be possible, photographed the cameras of three different types of photographers, did a round-up of Belgian photo zines, zoomed in on four photography
series that particularly tickle our fancy at the moment as well as asked a portrait
photographer to aim the lens at herself for once. And those are just the stand out
features. Turn to page 67 for our statistics page and the entire special itself.
On top of that, and not to be forgotten, we have the grey album. Before anything,
you wouldn’t imagine how relieved and pleased I am for it to finally have gone to
print. As many of you know, we had some problems bringing it out in February, as
was planned, so decided to push it back a little. And that turned out to be one of the
wisest decisions we’d taken in a while.
Transfer ¤ 21 (Belgium),
¤30 (Europe) or ¤ 45 (World)
to account n° 363-0257432-34
IBAN BE 68 3630 2574 3234
BIC BBRUBEBB stating your full
name, email and postal addresses
in the communication box.
Content-wise, it’s a banger. We tracked down seven of the country’s most notorious
graffiti writers, spoke to four specialists catering to the grey economy, interviewed
Dior Homme creative director Kris Van Assche as well as profiled electronic music
visionary Daniel Miller, founder of Mute records and The Grey Area.
Visit us
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Nicholas Lewis
© Clément Montagne
The Word is published five times a year by
JamPublishing, 107 Rue Général Henry
Straat 1040 Brussels Belgium. Reproduction,
in whole or in part, without prior permission
is strictly prohibited. All information correct
up to the time of going to press. The publishers cannot be held liable for any changes in
this respect after this date.
Not that boring after all…
On this cover
Self-portrait
4
The contents
Neighbourhood
22
8
Reeling in the years
The greyboard
24
9
Dirty pretty things
Human geography
19
Life
26
Thank God it’s Friday
20
Graffiti writers
30
Halfway there
21
Truck drivers
34
Altered states
Grey expectations
Volume 05 — Issue 02
Style
The photography Special
38
68
5
84
The hunter becomes the hunted
A taste for paradox
A photo-zine a day keeps the…
40
70
86
Is the photography book the new…
The middleman
The ones to watch
46
74
88
Photographers… and everyone…
Drive-by shooting
Bozar’s summer of photography
92
78
Music
58
Snapper’s delight
A stamp of approval
82
Uphigh Collective
Culture
94
60
Man vs. machine
Grey
Daniel Miller
6
The contributors
It’s a Word’s world
Felicia Atkinson
Writer
About
This French-born and
Belgium-based multi-talent is
a contemporary artist, releases
music under the pseudonym
“Je Suis Le Petit Chevalier” and
recently designed a T-shirt for
Rue Blanche. But Felicia also
has an encylopaedic knowledge
on photography – not the only
reason why we were delighted
to work with her on our
photography special.
Task
For her first contribution
to The Word, Felicia dived
deep into the world of Belgian
photo zines, moderated the
round table about the future
of the photography exhibition
and profiled Antwerp-based
photographer Jan Kampenaers
for us.
Quote
“Working on this issue made me
think of a quote from someone
else, Contretype’s Jean-Louis
Godefroid: I see a photographer
as a poet: I want to defend his
special sight over the world.”
Pauline Miko
Photographer
About
Studying photography at
Brussels’ La Cambre and having
come to our attention through
her internship at The Word last
year, Pauline quickly became
a major pillar of the magazine.
She’s especially proud to have
had her grandmother’s snowball
collection featured in our
white album.
Task
Strolling through Brussels’
streets to capture the strange
phenomenon of boot scrapers
on film, aiming her lense at
upcoming Belgian bands,
shooting zines as well as our grey
inspirations… As manifold as
her assignments are – Pauline’s
personal style, empathic and
intriguing, always shines
through.
Quote
“Taking endless walks around
the grey city, it struck me how
interesting a place Brussels really
is: The new meets the old at
every corner of every street.”
Sabine Clappaert
Writer
About
Cosmopolitan Sabine Clappaert
was raised in the hotter climates
of South Africa and Australia.
She currently calls Belgium her
home – for now.
Task
For this issue Sabine explored
the concept of “consciousness”,
diving into a strange world
of altered states as coma and
a condition called “locked-in
syndrome” in which patients are
aware of themselves but unable
to express anything but brain
activity.
Quote
“The question that will truly
haunt me after researching this
article is “how conscious are we
during the process of dying?”
In my research I found an article
showing brain scans of the
brain’s activity during – and
right after death – and the needle
was screaming up and down the
graph. Horrifying. Fascinating.”
Alex Salinas
Photographer
About
Alex, though born and raised in
Antwerp, is now hopping back
and forth between his Belgian
hometown and The Big Smoke.
His raw and direct style is
evident in his various personal
projects as well as in the work
he does for numerous clients
from ID Magazine to Dazed &
Confused. He’s also portrayed
hot shots such as Dennis Hopper
or Hannelore Knuts.
Task
After having brought his very
own twist to the snow white myth
for our cinematic issue, we were
thrilled to get Alex to once again
take care of our fashion pages.
Quote
“I love spending time in my
new car, inhaling its specific
smell, taking it for a drive
– which is why doing a fashion
shoot on wheels seemed like
the perfect idea.”
8
The greyboard
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Clockwise from top: Elina Brotherus’ book Artist and her Model, published by Brussels imprint Le Caillou Bleu. Brotherus has an exhibition running at Contretype until 10 th June and is also
taking part in Bozar’s Sense of Place exhibition, which runs from 14th June to 16 th September. Black Mirrors, the catalogue for French artist Julien Langendorff’s exhibition at Agnes B New York,
published by Brussels-based Shelter Press. Colin Gray’s book In Sickness and in Health, published by Steidl Mack. The book presents the last stage of Gray’s 29 year-long study called The
Parents. Here, he documents his mother’s disability following a stroke. Harrowing and haunting, yet so powerful. / 02. Redbull’s newest drink, its Silver Edition. / 03. Left: Patti Smith’s Radio
Ethiopia LP, recorded in 1976. Right: Leonard Cohen’s Live Songs LP. / 04. Purple Fashion’s pull-out Purple Books, cartes blanches given to certain creative forces in the field of contemporary
art, photography and music. Luminaries have included everyone from Aurel Schmidt and Thurston Moore to Katja Rahlwes and Dash Snow. / 05. Grey Goose Vodka. / 06. Grey Gardens, Albery
and David Maysles’ 1975 documentary depicting the lives of a mother and a daughter, both named Edit Beale, who lived in a dilapidated mansion in East Hampton, New York. The film makes
for riveting viewing. / 07. Left: Je Suis Le Petit Chevalier is the musical project of Brussels-based artist Félicia Atkinson, who contributed massively to our photography special. This record,
An Age of Wonder, was also released by Shelter Press, run by her partner Bartholomé Sanson. Right: The 12’’ for Stones Throw recording artist James Pants’ Ka$h. / 08. A grey HB pencil. /
All photography by Pauline Miko.
01.
Neighbourhood
9
Belgium
Human geography
© Arturas Raila
“Sense of Place” is a response to our
environment and to the distinctive
characteristics that give places their souls,
making them unique and special to us. The
images belonging to the exhibition of the
same name at Brussels’ Bozar play with this
spirit, with the connection between humanity
and our environment while revelling in the
aesthetics of landscape in contemporary
European photography. This year’s major
exhibition the ’Summer of Photography’
assembles some 160 works by 40
photographers, from young promising artists
to internationally celebrated stars, including
high-profile names like Andreas Gursky,
Gina Glover and Elina Brotherus. Paying
tribute to the environment while observing
the connection between nature and urbanity,
the images show how social identities have
been shaped by places.
© Arion Kudász
From 14th June to 16th September
Bozar, Brussels
bozar.be
© Elina Brotherus
Sense of Place
Nighthawks
Not only a married couple but also a team
when it comes to art, Franco-Belgian
photographers Merel’t Hart and Luk Vander
Plaetse join forces for this exhibition at
Brussels’ Cultural Center Jaques Franck.
The show focuses on their common project
called “De Buren,” a series inspired by a
nocturnal walk through a little Dutch town
and Edward Hopper’s iconic “Nighthawks.”
The contemplative and intimate images
expose peoples’ homes from the outside at
nighttime, as seen through their windows
thanks to the very Dutch habit of leaving the
curtains wide open. Merel’t Hart and Luk
Vander Plaetse’s work allows the viewer
to dive into the private lives of others,
confronting the notion of intimacy and
revealing an interesting aspect of Dutch
culture. But whether the act is a sign of
independence and freedom or an extreme
demonstration of “We have nothing to hide”
still remains to be seen.
Merel’t Hart and Luk Vander Plaetse
From 30th June to 1st September
Centre Culturel Jacques Franck, Brussels
lejaquesfranck.be
10
The diary
Dimensional transitions
A sense of form reminiscent of Mirò and
Picasso, shapes that recall Noguchi and
vibrant colours that evoke elements of pop
art – the descriptions applied to the work
of American artist Aaron Curry are many.
The Texan has managed to carve out a niche
for himself with his fantastical, bizarre and
colourful sculptures, collages and paintings
that all have one thing in common: fluctuation between the bi-dimensional and the
tri-dimensional, shifting from the background
to the foreground and back again. This play
with dimensions is the signature attribute
of the LA-based artist, and an aspect of his
work that is vividly apparent in the current
exhibition at Brussels’ Almine Rech Gallery.
The show unites Curry’s handmade collages
and paintings crafted out of cardboard with
large-scale wood and metal sculptures that
resemble abstract and, at times, animallike organisms with biomorphic shapes
and forms.
Aaron Curry: White Out
Until 22nd July
Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels
alminerech.com
Playing history
Jeremy Deller, English installation, conceptual and video artist, has been active in
contemporary art for just about two decades,
stretching its definition and, as some even
claim, rewriting its rules. Wiels is now hosting
an extensive overview of this very influential
artist of our time, with all of Deller’s major
works to date. The extensive oeuvre of
2004’s Turner prize winner includes everything from photographs, posters, banners and
installations to performance work and sound
pieces, that all come back to the prevalent
theme of his art: People and their habits,
symbols and social rituals. Intelligently but
playfully, he explores the social landscapes
of Western and especially British society,
never without a dose of provocation. His
most prominent project to date has been the
public re-enactment of a violent confrontation
between coalminers and police during the
1984/85 Miner’s Strike, a participatory work
that united almost 1,000 people.
Jeremy Deller: Joy in People
Until 19 th August
Wiels, Brussels
wiels.org
Neighbourhood
11
New topographies
© CUM*
In the context of the “Summer of
Photography,” the group show “From
Here On” broaches the issue of the future of
photography, raising questions about muchdebated topics like authorship, copyright
and privacy. Naturally, the exhibition also
touches upon the question of the “death” of
traditional photography, with a number of
international artists shedding a new light on
this changing art form by working with the
plethora of digital images from the internet.
While British artist Mishka Henner’s images
serve as a social documentary of sorts,
derived from photos originally intended
for another purpose, American Penelope
Umbrico instead uses photo-share websites
like Flickr for inspiration. Fellow American
Doug Rickard works with a similar concept:
He reproduces images from Google Street
View in an attempt to portray a marginalised
sector of American society.
© Corinne Vionnet
From 22nd June to 30th September
FoMu, Antwerp
fotomuseum.be
© Pavel Maria Smejkal
From Here On
© D.R
© Barbara Visser
Designing culture
What role does design play in the evolution
of everyday life? And what is our relation to
objects? How do objects influence society
and our direct surroundings? Ghent’s Design
Museum explores these and other questions
with its exhibition “Destrøy/Design”, uniting
an eclectic selection of outstanding art and
design objects of the moment with pieces
that date back to the 60s. Examining the
blurry limits between contemporary art and
design, the artists play with perceptions
of the intended purpose of utility items,
referencing, recreating or destroying
prominent design objects – always with
a sense of humour. The exhibition is
curated by the Frac Nord-Pas de Calais in
Dunkirk, France, an institution dedicated
to contemporary art that has pioneered the
investigation into the role of design in our
daily lives. Works include those of Donald
Judd, Barbara Visser, Gaetano Pesce, Sam
Durant and Atelier Van Lieshout.
© Sam Durant
© Barbara Visser
Destrøy/Design
From 7 th July to 21st October
Design Museum, Ghent
designmuseumgent.be
12
The diary
United Kingdom
Until 12 th August
Barbican, London
barbican.org
© 2012 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation
Bauhaus: Art as Life
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Germany
Even if you’re not an art buff, it’s very likely
you’ve heard of Bauhaus, the name given
to one of the most influential movements
in modern design and architecture and the
driving force behind the development of
modern visual language in general. Its range
of influence encompasses everything from art,
interior and industrial design to typography
and graphic design. With the biggest Bauhaus
exhibition in London in 40 years, “Art as Life”,
the Barbican Museum traces the history of the
school from its founding by Walter Gropius in
Weimar in 1919 to its dramatic closure in 1933
owing to pressure from the Nazis. This fascinating show encompasses no fewer than 400
works from prominent Bauhausers, including
pieces from iconic artists and architects like
Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,
Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee. The exhibition also allows the viewer a rather rare insight
into the everyday life at the Bauhaus, with a
display of black and white photographs of its
parties and festivals.
© Farkus Molnar
Functional beauty
Black gold
London’s Photographers’ Gallery is
putting on a exhibition of the internationally renowned “Oil” series shot by one of
Canada’s most respected photographers,
Edward Burtynsky. In over thirty captivating images, he examines one of today’s
most important natural resources with a
sharp, critical eye and sense of morality,
brilliantly revealing the effects of oil on our
lives, landscapes and cities. Burtynsky spent
over a decade travelling and documenting the production, distribution and use
of a hotly debated and strongly contested
natural supply that humankind has become
extremely dependent on. The large-scale
images give rare insight into the manufacturing process, with international drill sites,
refineries, highways and recycling grounds,
as well as abandoned oil fields. A vivid and
well-researched chronicle of oil’s role in
today’s society and a haunting reminder of
the oft-forgotten disconnect between the oil
industry and our consumer world.
Edward Burtynsky: Oil
Until 1st July
The Photographers’ Gallery, London
photonet.org.uk
14
The diary
France & Holland
Budapest – Berlin – Amsterdam
In what is the first comprehensive retrospective of the work of photographer Eva
Besnyö, Paris’ Jeu de Paume is showcasing
around 120 vintage prints by the so-called
“Grande Dame” of Dutch photography, an
artist particularly known for her outstanding landscapes, architectural photographs
and portraits. A prominent figure in the
Dutch New Photography movement, she
was also a true cosmopolitan: Born in
Hungary, she emigrated to Berlin at the age
of 20 and later fled to Amsterdam in the
autumn of 1932 with the rise of the National
Socialists. The exhibition “L’image sensible”
unites images from the different phases of
Besnyö’s life, revealing her strong sense of
humanism and her influential neo-realistic
approach to photography. In Budapest,
Berlin and Amsterdam, the artist photographed the women of the 1930s, the postwar reconstruction effort and numerous
writers, artists and actors.
Eva Besnyö: L’image sensible
Until 23 rd September
Jeu de Paume, Paris
jeudepaume.org
Memory lanes
The relationship between photography and
memory is the main focus of exploration for
Japanese-born, London-based artist Chino
Otsuka. Her images are suffused with an
autobiographical touch, tracing the past and
recreating it, using memory as a form of
storytelling. In Japan she’s known not only
as a photographer but also as the author of
a well-known book called “Chino’s Diary”,
which she wrote at the age of 15, and that
deals with her time at school in London.
This phase in her life also inspired the series
of images called “Summer”, for which she
revisited the site and staged self-portraits
(a recurrent practice in her artworks
– a quest for identity). With the inclusion of
her divorced parents and her grandmother,
sometimes combined with archive materials
and film stills, her images have a personal
and intimate feel and they blur and blend the
past and present, the imagined and the real.
Chino Otsuka: A World of Memories
From 9th June until 9th September
Huis Marseille, Amsterdam
huismarseille.nl
16
The diary
The pick of festivals to come
Lovebox
London, England
15th to 17th June
Couleur Café
Brussels, Belgium
29th June to 1st July
Ghent Jazz
Festival
Ghent, Belgium
5th to 14th July
Les Ardentes
Liège/Luik,
Belgium
5th to 8th July
Cactus Festival
Brugge, Belgium
6th to 8th July
Dour
Dour, Belgium
12th to 15th July
This June, London’s
Erykah Badu, De La Soul,
Bringing together pure
This seventh edition of
Cactus Festival, hosted
Franz Ferdinand, The
Victoria Park will be luvved
Sean Paul, Public Enemy,
Jazz musicians as well as
Liège/Luik’s Les Ardentes
in the picturesque
Rapture, Caribou, The
up and transformed into
Gentleman, The Subs –
some more fusion types,
is a helluva party that
surroundings of Brugge’s
Flaming Lips, Casiokids,
one big fat monster party,
Couleur Café is known for
this festival brags Jamaican
attracts around 70,000
Minnewater Park, is a
Battles, Puppetmastaz,
with Lovebox festival co-
having a thang for different
legends Ernest Ranglin,
music lovers every year
veritable grey-whiskered
James Blake, Kurt Vile,
founders Groove Armada
cultures, but it’s not just
Monty Alexander and Sly
and a host of top notch
veteran on Belgium’s
Bon Iver, Dilated Peoples…
returning to the stage to
the line-up: this three-day
& Robbie alongside the
names. This year sees
festival scene, launching
Dour 2012’s line-up is full of
celebrate the festival’s
diversity-fest will feature
likes of singer/songwriter
“The Godmother of Punk”
its 30 th edition this summer.
deliciously tasty morsels of
10 th birthday – despite
the usual booths with food
Damien Rice and crooner
– 65 year old Patti Smith
Combining rock, reggae,
the very best in indie rock,
an announcement that
from all over the world plus
Antony and the Johnsons,
– take to the stage. Other
world music and dance,
electro, pop and hip-hop.
they’d never grace our ears
an art expo (this year’s
who’ll be accompanied by
highlights include The
this party has a name for
No wonder, then, that
with a live show again.
theme: Nature, je t’aime,
the Metropole Orchestra.
Smiths-legend Morrissey,
eclecticism and the fact
since its creation in 1989,
Named after the electronic
moi non plus) and the
Not only that, but soul
American hip-hop icons
that there’s only one stage
Dour Festival has grown to
music duo’s residency,
Solidarity Village where
veteran Bobby Womack is
Cypress Hill and French
ensures you won’t miss
welcome about 140, 000
the Lovebox Weekender
NGOs will be doling out
making a comeback after
dream-popper M83, who’s
a thing running between
people to its fields, with
attracts up to 50,000 party
info on humankind’s impact
a 10 year hiatus to give
just catapulted himself to
them. The line-up goes all
six stages blasting out the
people every year and this
on the environment. It all
a blast of a new album
international stardom with
the way from American
choons for 17 hours a day
time they’ll be rocking out
adds up to a colourful,
that’s been produced by
his latest album “Hurry Up
post-rockers Explosions in
over four days. A music
to headliners like Hot Chip,
multicultural city-side
none other than Gorillaz’
We’re Dreaming.” Four
the Sky and Soundgarden’s
marathon with around 200
Crystal Castles, Grace
festival that well lives up to
Damon Albarn. There’s
days and three stages mean
Chris Cornell to singer/
bands and DJs, this bash
Jones and The Rapture.
its name.
also a competition for
an immense line-up that
songwriter Kurt Vile,
has even won a prize for
Worth a trip to the island,
couleurcafe.be
young emerging artists and
also features Warpaint,
Belgium’s Black Box
best medium-sized festival
we reckon. But be warned:
an exhibition showcasing
White Lies, and Marilyn
Revelation and genre-
in Europe – and we think
no camping.
images from Ghent Jazz
Manson – amongst many
breaking folk-rock-electro
rightly so.
lovebox.net
Fests-gone-by.
delightful others.
group Yeasayer.
dourfestival.be
gentjazz.com
lesardentes.be
cactusfestival.be
10 Days Off
Ghent, Belgium
13th to 23rd July
Power Festival
La Louvière,
Belgium
20th to 21st July
Microfestival
Liège/Luik,
Belgium
3rd to 4th August
Brussels
Summer Festival
Brussels, Belgium
10th to 19th August
Pukkelpop
Kiewit, Belgium
16th to 18th August
Lowlands
Biddinghuizen,
Netherlands
17th to 19th August
During its 18 years
For the eight time, the
After organising countless
Over 60 years old and
The second biggest music
With more than 10 stages
existence, 10 Days Off has
two-day Power Festival will
concerts and even growing
still no sign of letting up;
festival in the country after
and 200 acts, Lowlands
become a bit of a landmark
be hosted in La Louvière’s
its own label, Liège music
legendary weirdo-rockers
Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop
is one of the biggest and
for electronic music lovers,
Tivoli stadium, with a menu
collective Jaune Orange
Iggy & The Stooges are
gives the mic to around
best music festivals in the
not only in Belgium but
of metal, hardrock, punk
are finally realising their
performing at the Brussels
200 acts annually. This
Netherlands, a country
also beyond. In contrast to
and noise bands. British
fantasies with their very
Summer Festival this year,
party-in-a-field still prides
with probably a bit more
other summer festivals, this
punk rock veterans The
own festival. This one
sitting pretty at the top
itself on its independent and
than its fair share of decent
one is all indoors making
Damned will be returning
is small, has only one
of the line-up with The
alternative programming.
summer gigs. Founded by
for a more clubby type
to the stage, while French
stage and is infinitely
Stranglers, Pony Pony Run
And the line-up speaks for
Utrecht-based artist and
atmosphere – not such a
metalcore band Eths will
affordable. They’re focusing
Run and David Bartholomé.
itself: Björk is set to enchant
painter Bunk Bessel in 1967
bad idea considering this
be presenting a brand new
particularly on fresh new
The BSF sees the glorious
the fields of Hasselt,
under the banner “A Flight
country’s bloody weather.
album. Belgian hardcore
discoveries and newbies.
Belgian capital play host to
while British rock icons
to Lowlands Paradise,” this
Whilst making space for
gets a spot, too, with
But don’t think that this
a 10-day music marathon
The Stone Roses will be
three-day-bash is a worthy
electronic music of all
Ghent-based power trio
mini fest, now in its third
on the streets that unites
hotting up the stage as part
shindig with an eclectic and
stripes, 2012’s edition is
Drums are for Parades,
go, is a gig for Jaune
all kinds of genres, from
of their much anticipated
high-profile line-up that
going for a bit of a dubstep
amongst others. And check
Orange protégés only – au
jazz and pop to folk, reggae
comeback. And don’t you
includes a delightful combo
buzz, while lending itself
this out: the whole thing
contraire. There’s Gablé,
and even classical. Plus,
dare miss American rock
of the cream of the crop of
to a bit of disco, too.
is free. A day out for the
and The Chap as well as
festival groovers can get
duo The Black Keys, as
everyone’s all-time favorites
The multifaceted line-up
more hardcore music fans
Colin Stetson and The
into a number of Brussels’
well as Hot Chip, Feist,
(Wilco, Eagles of Death
includes Richie Hawtin,
among us.
Monsters.
museums for free, and
The Hives, Modeselektor
Metal, Feist) as well as the
DJ Koze, Moonlight Matters,
powerfestival.be
microfestival.be
this year rockabilly festival
and Django Django.
newest of the newcomers
Lapalux, John Talabot and
Brockxelles 58 is part of the
pukkelpop.be
(Django Django, Tune
many many many more.
bash, too.
Yards) ready to charm the
10daysoff.be
bsf.be
pants off the low countries.
lowlands.nl
18
The papers
The grey papers
When grey takes a break from refereeing between black and
white, this affable diplomat decorates our offices, coats our old
movie reels in layers of dust and packs the inside of our skulls
with things to think about. May we present grey’s very own
papers, chronicling film archives, boring suits, life after prison,
the brain, and Belgium’s legion of starving artists, along with
a profile of those shoe scraper thingymajiggies that the posh
of yore used to stop dragging horse shit through the parlour.
Who said grey was boring? We should be bloody grateful.
Writers Sabine Clappaert, Rose Kelleher, Robbert van Jaarsveld, Sarah Schug and Sam Steverlynck
Illustrator Virassamy
19
Neighbourhood
ˆ
“ One of the more sadistic ways bosses dupe us into thinking they’re
human is a bizarre cultural meme called casual Friday ”
ˇ
Thank God
it’s Friday
Your boss is not your friend. Occasionally,
she’ll pass around a bag of sweets, or invite you
to a barbecue and pretend she’s just like you.
She might even add you as a friend on Facebook
(don’t do it). But one of the more sadistic ways
bosses dupe us into thinking they’re human is
a bizarre cultural meme called casual Friday.
Traditional offices are drab places with carpets,
ceiling tiles and walls of a mysterious non-colour that gives grey a bad name. Once a week on
Fridays, they bloom when staff are permitted a
reprieve from formal wear and lope around in
loosened collars, jeans and coloured T-shirts.
But where did it come from? You can just imagine
silver-haired CEOs watching Powerpoint presentations on the ROI of staff morale, reclining
in leather chairs and going “Jeans, yes, I like it”.
But that’s not how casual Friday snuck into our
professional sphere. Some sources trace its roots
to Aloha Fridays in Hawaii in the forties, when
staff were permitted zany shirts one day a week.
In California’s dot com days, entrepreneurs
thought it would engender creativity if office
monkeys were permitted to wear whatever they
liked. In Europe in the 90s, we read about grey
Silicon Valley office cubicles transformed by a
proliferation of primary coloured “things” like
pinball machines and flip-flopped employees,
receptionists in summer dresses and bright red
anti-stress balls. We looked wistfully over the
top of the New York Times culture supplement
at our boss and he put his hands up and said
“OK, wear whatever the fuck you want on Friday,
OK?” Offices all over began adopting a Fridayonly wardrobe-fest. From behind a desk in
Brussels, globetrotting IT manager Darren
Ball waxes memorial. Suddenly, he says, casual
Friday started being written into HR policy in
Europe as a way to cheaply encourage staff to
perform, while engendering warm and fuzzy
feelings towards management. “For one day a
week, you were allowed to be yourself.” And,
he adds, it saved time on Friday mornings. But
it’s like letting your dog up on the couch. You
can’t just do it one day and then not the next.
It’s inconsistent. Who wants to be “me” one
day, and an indistinguishable office zombie
the other four? What, exactly, is the message?
Some say casual Friday even encourages sloppiness. Indeed, many of the growing army of freelancers force themselves into something formal
when they go to their “office” in the living
room. We are loathe to change the world in our
pajamas. But the traditional office is not long
for this world anyway. Even Google’s pioneering alt-space hasn’t aged well. Take their offices
in Place Jourdan/Jourdanplein in Brussels.
If there’s anything more kitsch than 1995’s next
big thing in industrial office design, we’d like
to hear about it. A large square metal block of
grey cubicles is still a large square metal block
of grey cubicles, no matter how many fuzzball
machines you order from an office supplies
catalogue. All that upstairs-downstairs office
stuffiness is so last century. Telecommuting
makes more and more sense, and there are a
growing number of creative office spaces that
don’t look anything like office spaces and creative employees who don’t look anything like
employees. So next Thursday evening, tell
your boss that your work can most effectively
be done from your couch, buck naked, in your
wedding dress, or whatever. With or without
your dog, of course, but make up your mind one
way or the other. (RK)
20
The papers
ˆ
“ Those with no home to go to after prison would end up on the streets if it were not for
independent shelters like this one ”
ˇ
Halfway there
“It’s very difficult to come out of prison. You
think you’re going to find everything as it was
but everything has changed. People have disappeared, others have moved on, some have
fallen ill.” We are sitting with Yassine in a
back room of the Petits Riens / Spullenhulp,
Belgium’s largest welcome centre for the
homeless. He works in the centre’s social
economy and we’ve nabbed him between
hauling boxes in the rain at the back of
the organisation’s flagship shop on Rue
Americaine / Amerikaansestraat. He’s happy
to tell us about the painful grey bit that ex-cons
experience between prison life and normal
life, a re-adaptive journey from institutionalised criminal to regular Joe. He was only 20
when the bars slammed shut behind him. Now
in his thirties, his release has been confrontational – there is a new currency called the euro
to contend with, along with something called
the Internet. “I was on parole for a year. No,
I didn’t feel free. I had to wear an electronic
bracelet and I had a strict timetable to respect.
There were lots of conditions. A couple of
times I didn’t respect the timetable so they
brought me back to prison. It was very difficult, because you find yourself in prison again,
even though you didn’t do anything wrong,
you’re just late for an appointment.” He shakes
his head. He says, funnily, that in his first days
of “freedom,” he spent a lot of his time looking
at cars. Most of the 120 men here have come
from prison, either directly or after an unsuccessful stint at “home”. And yet, this is not a
halfway house, a supervised state-run centre
for ex-detainees. That’s because Belgium
doesn’t do halfway houses. Those with no
home to go to after prison would end up on the
streets if it were not for independent shelters
like this one. The woman who answered our
call at the Office for Social Re-adaptation in
Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan told us,
“For early release, the detainee must have
a fixed address. But after the end of the sentence, if they have no address, we just let them
go. We have nothing more to do with them. I’m
not saying it’s the best system…” Sadly, most
of Belgium’s 10,968 prisoners (of which only
443 are women, according to official statistics),
many will have burned their bridges by the
time they complete their sentence. Homeless
shelters are their only option. The Office for
Social Re-adaptation, along with NGOs like
Apres and Petits Riens / Spullenhulp help them
to develop a viable plan for a future, to write a
CV, to apply for jobs and to “sell” themselves.
But the majority arrive with drug addictions
or mental problems (or both) that they picked
up inside, adding to their considerable woes.
A glance at the shiftless men lining the hallway
of the shelter is testimony to this. A sincere
Yassine says he is rehabilitated, and we like
him enough to believe him. After all, isn’t
that what all that tax money is paying for? He
is looking to the future, with a wife and kids
and normal stuff. “When I see people newly
arrived at the centre from prison, I feel good
because I have worked hard. But,” he adds,
“You always feel like an ex-con. Everywhere
I go, I am controlled. As far as I’m concerned,
I’m finished with all that. But if there is a fight
on the street and someone else gets involved,
nothing happens. But if I get involved, I automatically get five years in prison.” (RK)
petitsriens.be
21
Neighbourhood
ˆ
“ The vegetative state is one of the least understood and most ethically troublesome
conditions in modern medicine ”
ˇ
Altered states
Hello? Can you hear me? Yes, in here, in your
head. You can? Good, that means you’re conscious. It may sound strange, but you’re the only
one who knows you’re conscious. Of course,
you can let others know by talking or interacting with them. But what if you were conscious,
but unable to express it? What if you had been
involved in an accident resulting in severe head
trauma and were pronounced to be in a vegetative state, even though you could in fact see and
hear us, but you couldn’t tell us or show us? How
would you let the outside world know you’re
in there? These are questions that keep people
like Professor Dr Steven Laureys, head of the
Coma Science group at the Liege Hospital, and
Dr Adrian Owen of the Cambridge Sciences
Unit awake at night. And rightly so: an estimated
41 percent of patients declared to be in a vegetative state are wrongly diagnosed and are, in
fact, to a lesser or greater degree, conscious. The
problem? Consciousness isn’t all-or-nothing. It
consists of two components: arousal (wakefulness) and awareness (of the environment and
the self). And although several scoring systems
have been developed to assess consciousness,
no machine on earth can measure it objectively.
Consciousness doesn’t have clear boundaries:
where does it begin and where ­does it end?
Consciousness remains one of life’s greatest mysteries. How to quantify it, and how does it change
in altered states of sleep, hypnosis, anesthesia,
coma or a vegetative state, a term used to describe
patients that are awake but unaware of themselves or their environment? The vegetative state
is one of the least understood and most ethically
troublesome conditions in modern medicine,
notes Professor Owen. To complicate matters,
patients in a vegetative state also look awake:
their eyes are open, they breathe without assistance and can move their head, body or limbs
and even grunt, smile, cry or groan occasionally,
albeit always as seemingly purposeless reflexive
responses to external stimuli. But how can we be
sure a reflex is not, in fact, a voluntary action?
Owen and Laureys caution that “The diagnosis
of vegetative state should be questioned when
there is any degree of sustained visual pursuit,
consistent and reproducible visual fixation or
response to threatening gestures.” And if one
showed none of these promising signs, would that
exclude any possibility of consciousness? Let’s
reenact an experiment that was done to measure
the conscious awareness of a 23-year-old woman
who was declared to be in a vegetative state after
sustaining severe traumatic brain injury in an
accident. As in the experiment, a fully conscious
person (you) will be the control, to help scientists
measure activity in the brain of both the patient
and the control. Ready? First, imagine if you will,
playing a game of tennis. See it? Now imagine
visiting all the rooms in your house, starting
from the front door. Done? Here’s the startling
result: scans showing the brain activity of the
young woman would be indistinguishable from
yours. Her brain would show activity in exactly
the same areas as yours just has. Despite fulfilling the clinical criteria for a diagnosis of vegetative state, this patient retained the ability to
understand spoken commands and to respond to
them through brain activity, rather than through
speech or movement. Moreover, her decision to
cooperate by imagining particular tasks when
asked to do so represents a clear act of intention,
which confirms beyond any doubt that she was
consciously aware of herself and her surroundings, states Owen. Aware, but unable to express it
via any means other than brain activity. Fittingly,
it’s called locked-in syndrome. (SC)
22
The papers
ˆ
“ This is the technology of an industry that was almost like steam power back in the day.
Now it is still around, but in 10 years, it will really be archaeology ”
© Grégoire Pleynet
ˇ
Reeling in
the years
Belgians are an insecure bunch, often needing
approval from abroad before recognising their
own trumps. This is true for many artists –
Jacques Brel first had to be hailed in Paris
before gaining acceptance in Brussels – but it
also seems to be the case with the Royal Film
Archive of Belgium. Though the archive has
been around since the 1930s, many Belgians
only seemed to realise its importance when
Martin Scorsese called it “one of the most
important film collections in the world.” The
strength of the collection is that it is – unlike
the German Bundesarchiv / Filmarchiv or
the British Film Institute – extremely diverse.
Up to 80 percent of the films are foreign
and the collection contains material that
can’t be found anywhere else. “Basically, we
keep on discovering new stuff every week,”
curator Nicola Mazzanti says enthusiastically. Though the original negative of Citizen
Kane – often called the best movie of all
time – has been lost, the version closest to
the original can be found here in Brussels.
The film archive also boasts a large collection of silent movies, including The Cabinet
of Dr. Caligari which was restored here. The
collection – containing 67, 000 titles besides
prints, negatives and other items amounting
to a total of 160, 000 elements – is stored in
two industrial warehouses in Ixelles/Elsene
with a surface area of 12,000 m2. While the
general public can check out films at the city’s
Cinematek cinema, the archives are meant for
specialists like researchers and festival organisers. Employees working in the deposits are in
charge of receiving new arrivals, shipping films
to various festivals all over the world, managing the collection, etc. Restoration – an important part of the institution’s activities, making
it one of the leading restoration laboratories
in the world – happens in a laboratory close
to Brussels’ Midi station. The long corridors
of deposits, shopping carts with bobbins and
employees carefully cutting strips all add to
the bygone atmosphere. Though working conditions might seem archaic, this is no dusty old
bureaucratic department, and the staff – in
charge of the 3,000 or so items the institution
receives every year – won’t be found asleep
at their desks. The deposit’s sanctuary is two
rooms with low temperature vaults where
old bobbins are stored at a temperature of
5°C and 35° humidity, evoking comparisons
with the way Italian cheese makers devotedly
stock their parmesan. While Mazzanti shows
us around, he muses laconically: “This is the
technology of an industry that was almost like
steam power back in the day. Now it is still
around, but in 10 years, it will really be archaeology.” The archive recently made the shift to
digital, though it was not an easy transition:
“The buildings, the machines, the know-how
we have been developing the last 70 years…
Now everything has to be invented for digital
technology.” So how does Mazzanti see these
changes? “That is a tricky question. I grew
up with 35 mm films and have been a film
restorer for more than 20 years, working with
film, repairing perforations, etc. Emotionally,
it is difficult for my generation to move away
from film. On the other hand, I also know how
imperfect film restoration sometimes was. An
analogue copy is always worse than the original, but with digital technology you can do so
many things that you actually distort the film.
It is all a matter of respect.”(SS)
Neighbourhood
23
ˆ
“ It’s better to be a cog in a well-oiled machine than a loose screw rummaging around
the conveyor belt in search of its unique identity ”
ˇ
Work
SMARTer
not harder
Belgium is home to a lot of creatives who struggle to stay afloat or even on the right side of
legality. That’s because labour laws are not primarily designed to suit the artist. The market
is a system that favours the standard over the
specific and it’s better to be a cog in a well-oiled
machine than a loose screw rummaging around
the conveyor belt in search of its unique identity. If you’re self-employed, you might be sick
of the uncertainty; if you’re a plumber, you
can be sure there’ll always be a clogged toilet
somewhere but there’s no guarantee anybody
will need an “artist” come the morning. Some
artists work through SMartBE, an umbrella
company that takes care of billing services.
It saves on paperwork and provides a kind of a
legal framework that lifts intermittent workers
out of an uncomfortable grey limbo between
“employed” and “unemployed”. In 2011,
SMartBE handled more than €100 million
in fees for over 40,000 members. Managing
Director Julek Jurowicz elaborates: “Our
members are mostly aged between 20 and 40,
and somehow connected to the artistic world.
So that includes stagehands and technicians as
well as artists and creative professionals.” This
“somehow” is indicative: though SMartBE was
born to serve Belgium’s artists, it has evolved
to include many who work in professions that
could only tenuously be described as creative,
like commercial copywriters or translators.
“We handle administration and give professional advice on finances. But we’re not just here
for paperwork; the structure of our organisation allows members to do things they couldn’t
otherwise. For example, our members may not
have the security deposit needed for a 5,000€
lease, but since we do, they do too.” Sounds
like SMartBE are more than earning their right
to exist (and to reserve 6.5 percent of members’
gross income for overhead). Still, it might be
better to improve on existing policy instead
of slapping a band aid over it to stop people
falling through the cracks. Could targeted legislation prove a threat to SMartBE’s existence?
“I don’t believe that our success depends on the
complexity of the administration. It relies on
the atmosphere of our company and how our
members feel about us. Besides, when compared
to other countries, Belgian legislation is actually quite friendly to artists because it grants
access to things like social security, which is
quite exceptional in a European context.” And
yet the company still feels like a convoluted
administrative contraption that owes its existence to a gap in policy. Meanwhile, companies are increasingly turning to project-based
employment, which means that somebody
needs to step in before creatives end up in the
docks for tax evasion. “Our creative and artistic
population is growing. We want to grow, not to
become a huge international corporation but
to have the leverage to lobby for our members
on a European level. We have partners in five
other countries, and SMartBE could become
the main partner for self-employed creatives
on the European mainland.” Across Europe,
the employment landscape is shifting, with the
profile of the workforce evolving to reflect the
need for a more flexibility and project-based
gigs. This has led to a mishmash of employment
labels based on either fiscal, social security or
legal regimes, requiring more than a little artfulness from Europe’s artists and their supporters, like SMartBE, to find out where, exactly,
they belong. (RVJ)
The papers
© Pauline Miko
24
Dirty pretty
things
It’s odd how something pretty much all over the
place can be so easily overlooked. Have you
noticed those little ground-level niches with
the horizontally attached iron piece next to the
entrances of Brussels’ buildings? Reminiscent
of oversized mouse holes, these so-called “bootscrapers”, antique versions of today’s doormat,
can cause confusion for modern-day walkers
– even though they’ve been an integral part of
Brussels’ urban landscape for centuries. While
some are plain and functional, others are more
like artworks in themselves. They’re remnants
from the 18th and 19th centuries when they were
used to scrape mud off shoes. Recently, these
hidden treasures have attracted some attention:
from academic research in Brussels’ universities to an exhibition in Halles St Géry, where
over 1,000 photographs show boot-scrapers
in all shapes and sizes. “When streets had not
been asphalted yet, they were common in all
big European cities,” explains Laurence Rosier,
professor of Linguistics at the Free University of
Brussels, who has delved deeper than most into
the rather obscure subject. But the scrapers only
started appearing when the first footpaths were
constructed: “It wasn’t until the upper classes
in London, Paris and Brussels left their horse
carriages and walking became socially acceptable that a market for the iron-made objects
emerged,” Rosier continues. Although the
scrapers can be found in a number of countries
including Algeria, the ones in Brussels stand
out for their sheer beauty inspired by art deco
and art nouveau architecture. Today, the moveable version, banned in the 19th century out of
public safety concerns (that’s when the scrapers
started to become attached to house walls), can
be found on eBay as a decorative item. And even
though the streets are tarred nowadays, they
can still come in handy as dog poop removers
for example, something that’s much-needed on
Brussels streets, we think you’ll agree. (SS)
Neighbourhood
25
1050 Décrottoirs!
From 13th June to 7 th July
ULB, Salle Allende, Campus du Solbosch
Avenue Paul Hégerlaan – 1000 Brussels
26
The Word on
Graffiti writers
Graffiti writers live for one thing and one thing only: getting
their name up. Streets, highways, subways, trucks, trains,
abandoned buildings, playgrounds – you name it, and chances
are they’ve probably painted it. We hunted down six legends,
each with their own speciality, and got them talking about their
nighttime obsessions.
Photographer Sarah Eechaut
For streets: Byz
First started painting in 1992. Got into graffiti through skateboarding and trips to New York.
Very early on put all his focus into street
tagging. Met SozyOne of RAB at art school
and quite quickly got into the crew (“I told
him that if I was accepted into the crew I’d do
the work.”). Had an infamous battle with Roel
(CNN) that lasted several months: “Roel Vs
Byz was a little like Anderlecht vs. Standard,
or Madrid vs. Barcelona.” Once painted
what was believed to be the tallest letter in
the world in the inside of a now-demolished
building in downtown Brussels, a “B” that
measured 80 metres high.
27
Life
For everything: Escro
Started painting at age 14. Estimates having
painted over 400 trains and 15 subways in
addition to innumerable burners, throw-ups
and tags. Painted exclusively in Brussels
train yards for 10 years, mostly on Sunday
mornings.
“I like tagging the most, preferably with fat
caps. I like the French way of painting, going
for quantity over quality. Guys like Trane
from France.”
For walls: Defo
First started painting in 1993. Prefers
painting walls – he once spent 16 hours on a
wall. Member of some of Brussels’ most
infamous crews: DB, BCP and Bad News.
“I’m in several crews, although I like to paint
with whomever I want.”
The Word on
28
For highways: AT1
First started painting in 1996-1997.
Prefer painting highways as they’re more
visible, and also stay up for longer.
“When we’re out on an AT1 mission,
no individual names get put up. And when
our members are on an individual mission,
AT1 doesn’t get put up.”
For trains: Hulk
First started painting in 1989. Estimates
having painted over 1,200 trains and
subways since then.
“Why trains? They’re simple, they’re beautiful,
they’re clean and they run. There’s a certain
atmosphere to painting trains, a certain
tactical strategy to reach the train yard.
You need to think of everything and, above
all, you need to paint quickly and run even
quicker if the police comes. Painting trains
is a mission, so when you see your train pull
up at the train station, that’s just the end of it.”
29
Life
For subways: Cap
First started painting in 1993.
Got into graffiti through a group of
friends (the SCT crew) and then
through another crew, DRC.
“I was introduced to subways through
Pom and Chinez. I prefer painting subways
to trains because I get more of a kick out of it.
Trains have never really been my thing.
Over the years, I must have painted over
150 subways in Brussels alone.
The best memory I have is of painting
the Delta subway yard with 12 other guys,
several times during the same day.”
For art: Bue
First started painting in 1991.
Mostly paints colourful walls. Estimates
having painted over 600 of them.
“Painting for me is like therapy!
And I feel free as a bird.”
30
The other Word on
Truck drivers
Despite advancements in technology, at its core, the global economy
still relies on a nomadic bunch of freedom-fighting oddballs whose
life is spent hauling cargo from point A to point B across the world’s
highways. And, with its sprawling and illuminated network of
freeways nestled right at the heart of Europe, Belgium remains an
obligatory pit stop on most truckers’ itineraries. Here, we hitch a ride
with some of the local boys, capturing the loneliness that comes with
having chosen life on the road.
Photographer Ulrike Biets
Sipke Wielinga (1959)
Friesland, The Netherlands. Driver for Veenstra International
Sipke drives a Volvo FH. His truck is three
years old and has clocked up 475,000
kilometres. All in all, Sipke has driven over
two million kilometres. His favorite destinations are everything south – France, Italy,
Spain – because of the weather and the food.
He used to be a graphic designer until the age
of 40. Why did he quit a desk job for life on
the road? Freedom. Walls were coming down
on him, so he decided to flee. His favourite
music on the road is Johnny Cash.
Life
31
Jurgen Vergucht (1972)
Aalst, Belgium
Driver for the company TGB
Jurgen drives a Scania R420. He’s driven
more than 300,000 kilometres with it over
the last three years. He mainly drives from
port to port, but his favorite destination is
the train terminal in Dourges, France. His
boss likes the trucks to shine, so he goes to
the truck carwash once a week. His favourite
music on the road is Disturbed.
Filip Cap (1974)
Sint-Gillis Waas, Belgium
Driver for Tilleman
Filip drives a DAF YF 430. In his 11 years on
the road, he’s driven almost a million kilometres. He mainly drives in and around Belgium,
transporting piglets. Unlike most drivers, he
returns back home to his family every night.
His favorite part of Belgium is “de westhoek”,
because of the absence of traffic jams. When
driving, he likes listening to greatest hits.
32
The other Word on
Rob Savelkoul (1956)
Bocholt, Belgium
Driver for Albert Keijzer Transport
Rob has been driving a DAF ND3460 since
2007, totalling 450,000 kilometres with it.
The day he turned 18, he quit school and
started his career as a truck driver. The best
memory he has is when a company he used to
drive for, following a logistical mistake, sent
all its trucks to the same destination in a day.
The small village near Lyon was flooded by
trucks and truck drivers, turning it into one
big parking lot. Over 40 trucks used every
free inch of space, with some even parked on
peoples’ driveways and on the local football
field. A massive four-day party ensued.
Life
33
Roel Hertsens (1988)
Kallo, Belgium
Driver for Transport NV De Cock
Roel has been driving his Volvo FM for three
years now, clocking up some 234,000 kilometres to date. Despite his young age, he already
has been involved in some serious accidents.
When on the road, he prefers listening to the
radio. His favorite destination is home.
Visit thewordmagazine.be/life/truckers for a complete gallery of life on the road.
34
The business
Grey expectations
By 2020, 40 percent of the Belgian population will be over 50.
They will want to have fun, travel, and stay healthy and mobile
in their own (renovated) homes. These four professionals
understand that seniors will soon rule the world, and though it
might not be terribly sexy, it’s the future.
Photographer Sarah Eechaut
Interviews Rose Kelleher
Christophe Urvoy
General Manager, Senior Agency
Senior Agency is the only senior marketing company in Belgium.
They specialise in generational marketing and “baby boomer monitoring.”
Older people have higher accumulated savings per head than
younger people. So where are all the ads targetting them? Urvoy
explains: “Many advertisers are afraid of doing something for
older people, they think they will lose the younger. But when
you’re 30, you have to pay for your house, your children...
when you’re 50, everything is paid for. You’ve got time and
money.” He says there is also confusion as to what “senior”
actually means. “You ask someone to name a senior celebrity
and they say Jacques Chirac. But a senior is Sharon Stone, who
still appears naked in Paris Match. 86 percent of seniors don’t
recognise themselves in advertising, incredible but true.” And
don’t look to your grandparents’ experience of retirement as a
model for your own, he warns. “Before WWII, we didn’t have
a lot of seniors. You worked all your life and then you died.
The last generation are the first ones to live to be so old. The
baby boomers have watched their parents, they know what’s
going to happen, that they will live another 20 or 30 years, and
they are wondering what they can do with themselves.”
senioragency.com
Life
Dirk Lefeber
Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering, ULB/VUB
The Robotics and Multibody Mechanics Research Group researches new actuators with adaptable compliance,
dynamically balanced robots, robot assistants, rehabilitation robotics and multibody dynamics.
Aging isn’t only about the frail, but maintaining mobility
is key to maintaining independence. Lefeber develops
companion robots for children, as well as exoskeletons
for the elderly. “What I am personally interested in
is assistive devices to help people in their daily living.
Things that can help people walk. You see elderly people
who can walk for only 15 or 20 metres and then they get
tired, they risk falling. We are building assistive devices
to allow them to walk 200 metres instead.” The choice to
stay in your own home is a big issue for seniors. “Not to
walk around in the woods but to move around your living
room or kitchen.” he says. What will it look like? “Thats
a big challenge. The devices are relatively bulky at the
moment. What we are developing now will be more for
ourselves, within 10 or 15 years these robots will be in
our homes. We are not far from a scenario where we use
exoskeletons for mobility.”
mech.vub.ac.be
35
36
The business
Mathieu Lefevre
Course Coordinator, Université des Ainés, Brussels
The UDA is a life-long learning service whose activities include more than 200 educational courses and workshops,
plus conferences, seminars, and cultural excursions for the elderly in Brussels and Louvain la Neuve.
Living until 100 will soon be normal. That leaves three
or four decades between retirement and death. What to
do? Lefevre organises courses, seminars and conferences
at the Université des Ainés, a day school for seniors,
whose curriculum includes everything from maths to
meditation.“We have an 81 year old studying information
technology. Everyone has their place.” he says, adding that
there are no qualifications to be gained at the UDA. “There is
a real need for self-enrichment, but also to make connections,
friendships, with others. It’s not for a diploma.” Particularly
useful, he says, is the opportunity for intergenerational
exchange. “I remember there was a young history teacher who
was giving a lesson on WWII. He was really happy because of
the exchange of knowledge with the students.” The popularity
of schools like the UDA is growing. Its numbers have swelled
to 3,400 in recent years. “We are not the only one. There are
more and more older people in retirement, and the need is
becoming more real. It’s a reflection of modern society.”
universitedesaines.be
Life
Marysia Kluppels
Marketing and Communications Manager, DELA Funeral insurance
DELA is a a non-profit cooperative that organises funerals, and the only company in Belgium
that sells funeral insurance.
“Many people say “I’m going to save money in the bank so if
anything happens to me, the people I leave behind can have
it.” But in a lot of cases, people don’t keep the money for their
funeral because they want to travel, or buy something that
they always dreamt of. The problem is also that we are living
much longer, and people need to spend more money on
“care” (service flats, nursing…). In the end there is nothing
left for funerals. And who ends up paying is getting more
complicated. Due to the increased amount of divorces, there
are more “new composed families”. We see more in case of
sudden death, people start arguing about who pays for the
funeral. The new partner? Or the legitimate children of the
deceased who will inherit? Only a minority take action to
prevent financial calamity. It’s very sensitive because our
message is always related to death. It’s taboo. But it’s all about
taking care of people at one of the most difficult times in
their life. Since I started working here, I live more intensely,
more aware that every day could be my last.”
dela.be
37
The encounter
38
A taste for paradox
Kris Van Assche is a bit of a mysterious figure in the fashion world.
The Paris-based Belgian – who designs Dior menswear as well as
his own line – is clearly not the flamboyant type. In this exclusive
interview, he opens up to talk about his own style, avoiding sartorial
clichés and why having fun with clothes is important.
Writer Philippe Pourhashemi
One thing Kris Van Assche cannot stand is
stereotypes. The 35-year-old Belgian designer
– who launched his own brand seven years ago
and has been at the helm of Dior menswear
since 2007 – has a quiet passion for subtlety,
which seems to be an integral part of his personality. His design stance is more essential
than extreme. A firm believer in discretion
and refinement, he pays close attention to
detail and doesn’t try to stand out. His clothes
demand a second take, as there’s nothing
obvious about them. Whether he designs for
Dior or his own brand, Van Assche applies
the same consistency to his approach. There’s
something linear and precise about his style.
It’s gimmick-free and functional. He’s been
reworking the same items since the beginning
Photographer Gaetan Bernard
and doesn’t look for shock value. Despite
studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in
the mid 90s and being surrounded with fans
of trailer trash and heroine chic, Van Assche
was always low-key in his perspective and
never into anything flashy or overt. In fact,
his restrained aesthetics and vision have not
always been read properly, only slowly gaining
prominence in an industry where flamboyance
and inflated egos are commonplace, “I’ve been
in this business for a while now and realised
that no one could put me in a box. It amuses
me sometimes, because I’m not even aware I’m
doing it myself, but I am attracted by things
that cannot be defined. I subconsciously avoid
classifications and feel uncomfortable with
them. For instance, when I pick models for my
shows, I tend to stay away from prepubescent
boys or gym bunnies. I hate clichés. I’m much
more interested in ambivalence and ambiguity.
I guess there are complex elements in my work,
which people might not notice straight away.
Such an approach has its advantages – as you
don’t get categorised somehow – but the inconvenience is that people don’t associate you with
one specific word or item. Other designers can
be identified much more easily.” Van Assche
seems highly aware of the image he projects
and there’s a genuine critical distance in his
behaviour. You can feel that he’s probably his
own worst critic at times and a sense of humility permeates his words. Don’t expect him to
gloat about his success or many achievements.
He’s far too understated for that.
Style
Quick definitions don’t satisfy Van Assche.
Throughout his career as a designer, he’s been
looking for a sense of balance, trying to address
the demands of contemporary life without
renouncing his creativity. He defines his ideal
man as an “acrobat”, an individual who would
be able to balance opposite and contrasting
worlds. Van Assche’s collections have illustrated this point well, pleasing fashion folks
and industry experts alike. When he started
designing for Dior, journalists were tough, but
he kept doing what he was good at. Replacing
Hedi Slimane who had left the house was no
easy feat, but Van Assche stuck to his guns
until the fashion world finally caught up with
him. He has a healthy dose of pragmatism,
making him undeniably Belgian, even though
he’s been based in Paris for years. Van Assche
makes clothes men actually want to wear and
there’s no denying that he knows how to sell.
His pieces may come across as simple and
minimal, but they’re not plain either. Finesse
seems a natural calling for him. You won’t see
Van Assche indulge in sequinned pink trousers
or brightly printed shirts, even though he probably loves to see them on other people “I don’t
go out a lot, but like to watch how teenagers
dress. Lately, I’ve seen some very cool types
wear extreme things and get away with them.
I love that kind of energy. I look at eccentrics
like Anna Dello Russo or Bryan Boy and find
it great that they are in fashion. When I studied
at the Academy in Antwerp, clothes were taken
too seriously and there was a feeling that you
had to suffer for fashion in order to make it
happen. It was all about conceptual style and
intellectualism then. Such an approach no
longer fits our world. It’s nice when people have
fun with clothes. These kids don’t care whether
you think they’re smart or not. They’re just here
to have a good time.”
Van Assche’s clothes are masculine, but
they’re not butch either. He respects tradition,
but also wants to move it forward. In his focus
on suits and shirts, he’s tweaking elegance for
a new generation that grew up in jeans and
trainers. “The starting point for my last collection was seeing these tattooed, skater guys
in LA and wonder what suit they would buy
once they got a regular job. Formality does
not have to exclude style or comfort. I don’t
actually think elegance can be defined as such.
There’s something very personal about it. The
same suit can look fantastic on one guy and
grotesque on another one. Caricatures are not
elegant. When I meet someone new, I look at
their clothes and the way they carry themselves. Elegance is about an attitude in the end.
It’s the whole package, not just garments.” Van
Assche has been playing with proportions to
modernise the suit. He has taken the sartorial
stiffness away, keeping structure as a backbone.
39
Van Assche’s moodboard for his Spring-Summer 2012 collection
His clothes are fluid and don’t go against the
body. The idea is that you could wear his
clothes in any context and not feel inadequate.
In many ways, his designs incorporate the techniques and ease of sportswear, while keeping
a distinctive touch. In his choice of colours,
Van Assche favours subdued tones, such as
white, black and grey. They may all be reassuringly masculine, but he knows how to give
them a fresh spin. “I wear a lot of grey myself
and love pinstripes, probably because they’re
traditional and remain one of menswear’s key
staples. I don’t really have a desire to go against
the grain in my work. I’ve always liked classical
patterns and neutral tones are a no-brainer for
me. It’s not like I need to over-analyse them.”
ˆ
His clothes demand
a second take,
as there’s nothing
obvious about them
ˇ
Although Van Assche is clearly not an
extrovert, his cool demeanour does not exclude
a sense of humour. After all, he’s used to the
level of scrutiny and responsibility that comes
with being your own boss and designing for
a major luxury brand. He manages two separate teams at the same time and is very good
at it. There’s also a feeling that he’s gradually
loosening up and letting go with age. “I probably designed things that were crazier when
I started. I was very young when I launched
my own brand and learnt something new each
season. I’d say I’m comfortable with my own
style now and pleased with what I do. That
may leave room for bolder things to come.
The one thing that has changed within my own
line is that I don’t feel the need to personally
relate to the clothes. I can work with something
I wouldn’t wear myself. It’s not a problem for
me. That’s something I found impossible to do
at the beginning of my career.” Van Assche’s
own balancing act is to grow his label – which
has a fairly selective and niche market –
while keeping the executives at Dior happy
“I couldn’t be freer with my own brand and
Dior does have its tricky aspects. What can
be frustrating with my own collection is that
I have all this freedom, but also material limitations that I cannot ignore. Things can be tight
and challenging as far as budget is concerned.
At Dior, I have my own atelier and a bigger
team. They can spend a very long time on
research and work on great projects. It’s a completely different set-up. When you have more
possibilities – like I do at Dior – you always
have to watch that your focus does not get lost.
Freedom is a relative notion, I suppose.”
krisvanassche.com
40
The insider
Behind every successful designer, lies a great
producer. Marc Gysemans, who collaborated
with industry darling Raf Simons for more
than a decade, doesn’t find defining his role an
easy task, “I don’t think the words “producer”
or “manufacturer” encapsulate what I do. I see
myself as the person turning someone’s talent
into a commercial reality,” explains Gysemans
who – despite his affable manner and slender
frame – doesn’t mince his words. “You cannot
do anything without a vision. My company
– Gysemans Clothing Group – handles production, shipping and distribution for fashion
brands. I’ve been in this business long enough
to know what designers are like. They will
manipulate anyone to get what they want. They
will use you as a stepping stone and forget
about you the next day. It’s fashion amnesia.”
In an industry full of pretence and illusion,
Gysemans’ frankness stands out. Passionate
about his job, he has seen a tangible change
since 2008, when the recession kicked in
and affected the fashion business, “You don’t
see as much creativity now as you did five of
six years ago, but you also have to be able to
afford being creative as a designer. Fashion
has become increasingly commercialised and
industrial. We are going through a transitional
phase and the world is still going to change.
Shops don’t take risks any more, because they
don’t sell conceptual collections.” Gysemans’
relationship with Simons is the stuff of legends.
Whenever he talks about the Belgian designer –
who recently was appointed artistic director for
Haute Couture, womenswear and accessories at
Dior – one senses Gysemans’ respect and admiration for the man “I’m sure Raf will do a great
job at Dior. He will bring a welcome edge to the
label and deliver inspiring shows. That’s always
been one of his key strengths.” The majority of
brands Gysemans works with are not Belgian.
His factories are located in Europe, but he
stopped producing locally. Last season, he
collaborated with Belgian designer Anthony
Vaccarello – who got plenty of press with his
skin-tight dresses and sexy cuts – but the fit was
not right. Recently, he took on Brussels-based
Jean-Paul Knott, handling his manufacturing
and distribution, as well as international sales.
“Working with designers is complicated and
there’s always an element of risk with someone
new. You have to find some kind of ideal compromise between the artistic part and the commercial side. Designers come to me to make me
a partner. I offer different packages and they
can choose what suits them. The important
© Cici Olsson
The
middleman
thing about designers is that they’re emotionally attached to what they create. I appreciate
this, but one should never forget it’s a business after all. Clothes need to sell.” Sitting
in Gysemans’ office in Rotselaar it becomes
clear what pleasurable company he can be.
He’s witty, humble and has strong opinions.
Gysemans is engaging, too, which means you
are easily drawn to him. Despite having been
in this business for years, his enthusiasm seems
intact and there’s nothing remotely jaded about
him. Strangely enough, Gysemans was not into
fashion as a teenager, even though he didn’t like
anyone dictating his sartorial choices “Fashion
was not my thing, to be honest. I liked clothes
though and was quite specific about what I
wore. I was the hippie type then and my mother
tried to tell me what to wear. Needless to say, it
never worked. I was obsessed with jeans when I
was 15, wearing denim head-to-toe. And I did
my own shopping, too. There’s no way I would
have let her do that for me.” (PP)
gysemansclothinggroup.com
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The showstoppers
42
Seven things you should buy
before you leave
We’re keeping both him and her happy
with this month’s showstoppers selection.
We have the iconic bag, shoes and polo shirt,
the future-friendly dresses, the obligatory pair
of high tops, the jacket to go with them as well
as the scent of the moment.
01.
The bag
If Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel are as inseparable as Mulder and Scully, the German designer
occasionally likes to inject some of his own
Teutonic cool into the ubiquitous brand. Le
Boy is a slightly androgynous handbag, with
rectangular lines and a minimal aesthetic. Even
though it clearly is a luxury item – coming with
the hefty price tag it deserves – there’s nothing
remotely bourgeois about it. The signature
chain strap is thicker and heavier, giving it a
tougher edge. In fact, Le Boy was inspired by
Coco Chanel’s torrid relationship with Boy
Capel, the English businessman she once
described as “the great love of my life.” (PP)
Chanel Le Boy classic bag (from ¤1,800).
Available from Chanel (Brussels).
chanel.com
43
Style
02.
The dress
French fashion label Lacoste has come a long
way since its creation in 1933. Still mostly
known for its timeless tennis polo shirts
embroidered with the iconic crocodile logo,
the brand has since opened up its style and
delved further into fashion territory. This pure
and simple yet stylish crewneck sweater dress
with modern contrasting details is the ideal
example of this. With its comfortable fit and
contemporary look, it perfectly embodies the
other, younger side of Lacoste. A cosy off-duty
piece that can be worn as a dress, but also as
a top. (SS)
Lacoste sweatshirt dress (¤145)
Available from Lacoste (Brussels).
lacoste.com/be
03.
The heels
There’s nothing like a pair of Manolo
Blahniks’ pumps to raise a woman’s entire
game. Infamous for its colourful extremes
(think pink, zebra and neon) and famously
still hand-drawn by its eponymous founder,
the brand has held a special place in women’s
hearts (and wardrobes) ever since they first
appeared in that TV show we won’t mention.
The first man ever to be featured on British
Vogue’s cover back in 1974, there’s something
about his designs that simply seems to
instinctively understand women. And, with
these grey suede high heels contrasted with a
little black detail adding to its elegance, this
pair is no different. (SS)
Manolo Blahnik grey suede pumps (¤600).
Available from Smets (Brussels).
manoloblahnik.com
The showstoppers
44
04.
The perfume
The idea of vetiver cologne seems to conjure
up images of old British men smoking fat
cigars and wearing nasty tweed suits. Fact is,
whilst Vetiver may be iconic in the perfume
world, it often has a stuffy image attached to it.
Leave it to Tom Ford then to revamp tradition, adding a sleek and sexy sheen to a deluxe
scent. His Grey Vetiver is anything but classic,
and includes playful notes of orange flower,
aromatic sage and grapefruit. Ford is a Texan
citizen after all, so don’t expect him to do anything too understated. Grey Vetiver is a seductive fragrance, smelling reassuringly expensive.
It is masculine and sensual at the same time,
melting into the body’s natural heat. (PP)
Tom Ford Grey Vetiver
(¤77,28 for 50 ml, ¤97,61 for 100 ml).
tomford.com
05.
The sneakers
Every man needs a pair of sneakers or two
in his wardrobe. Thing is, as you edge closer
to your thirties and forties, chances are your
Nike’s, Adidas’ and Puma’s will need to be
replaced by slightly higher-browed models.
You know, a pair that won’t make your Dior
suit seem completely out of touch with reality.
In steps Pierre Hardy’s grey leather sneakers
and, with them, a whole new world of sneaker
fetishism. With almost an architectural purity
about them, the ankle-high shoes’ simplicity
and undertones of utmost sartorial confidence really is what placed them at the top of
our list. If Pierre Hardy knows one thing, it is
what men and women want to wear as shoes.
Probably the reason why Dior as well as
Hermès have entrusted him with their shoe
collections, although that’s an entirely different story. (SS)
Pierre Hardy grey leather sneakers (¤370).
Available from mrporter.com
pierrehardy.com
Style
45
06.
The jacket
German fashion house Hugo Boss has
established itself throughout the years as
one of the leading brands around the globe,
promoting a style that is clear-cut, progressive
whilst also remaining timeless. This grey,
lightweight and waist-fitted sports blazer is
part of Hugo Boss’ Green line predominantly
featuring casual, sporty and relaxed pieces, an
approach that this jacket perfectly embodies
with its simple, contemporary look and its
soft fabric. Elegant, luxury but also fresh
sportswear that’s not only meant for the golf
course (SS)
Hugo Boss jacket (¤349).
Available from Hugo Boss (Brussels).
hugoboss.com
07.
The dress
If the thought of going through your wardrobe trying to find colours that match gives
you an instant headache, we’ve found the
perfect piece that is guaranteed to make
summer dressing a tad easier. Monsieur Bul’s
sleeveless dress is a stylish and trendy choice,
without being too girly. Lightweight and
structured at the same time, the dress has a
nicely fitted waist, an open back detail and
is printed with cute little blocks of colour.
We like the fact that it’s mostly grey, meaning
you won’t end up looking like Ronnie
McDonald by the end of summer. (PP)
Monsieur Bul sleeveless printed dress (¤355).
Available from Glory Box (Brussels).
monsieurbul.be
See page 96 for full stockist information.
Visit thewordmagazine.be/style/seventhings for
full purchase links.
46
The fashion Word
Drive-by shooting
We know what you’re thinking. This girl
looks like trouble, working the roadside shift
and teasing passers-by with her innocence.
You couldn’t be further from the truth for
this little sight of beauty knows exactly
what she’s doing and where she’s going.
And it ain’t in your car.
Photographer Alex Salinas
Fashion Kim Peers
Style
Sleeveless knit dress with metallic detail Chanel, Biker jacket G-Star, Bracelet Leen Boden
47
Lycra bathing suit Urban Outfitters, Suede caftan Hermès, Sunglasses Urban Outfitters, Necklace Tamawa,
Ring Access, Sandals Filippa K, Vintage fleece Make-up Artist’s own
Tie-dye bikini top Tommy Hilfiger, Printed skirt Baby Beluga, Necklace Paula Giezman, Ring Ave, Leather handbag Delvaux
Stretch bikini top Louis Vuitton, Printed skirt Diesel Black Gold, Ring Tamawa, Necklace Leen Boden,
Chain detail mini handbag Gucci, Sunglasses Valentino, Leather shoes Lanvin Vintage
Printed kimono La Costa del Algodon, Two-tone bikini Paule Ka, Necklace Access, Wooden bracelet A.P.C.
Silk top Sandrina Fasoli, Printed shorts Victoria Beckham, Cotton hat Hermès, Earrings Tamawa, Ring Access,
Cotton trainers Converse, Structured leather bag Clio Goldbrenner
Denim shirt Lee Cooper, Slogan t-shirt Wild Fox, Drawstring shorts Lacoste, Earrings Access
54
The fashion Word
Nude camisole Urban Outfitters, Leather skirt Gucci, Watch Rado, Patent leather bag Louis Vuitton
Style
55
Printed silk dress Vionnet, Necklace A.P.C., Bracelet Filippa K, Belt American Apparel, Trainers Faguo
Photographer
Alex Salinas
Assistant photographer
Jef Jacobs
Hair and make-up
Esther Wauters
Model
Sharon
@Ullamodels
See page 96 for full stockist information.
56
The columns
Pale grey
Combining subtle melodies with electronic beats, Pale Grey’s
electro-pop is characterised by nifty soundscapes imbued with
a melancholic touch. Following the motto “quiet is the new
loud”, the Belgian four-piece from Liège / Luik just published
their first EP “Put Some Colors” in May last year and has
done quite some touring through Europe ever since. We spoke
to the first-day founders of the band, Gilles Dewalque
and Maxime Lhussier, about their first EP, color-driven
inspirations and being part of the JauneOrange Collective.
Photographer Pauline Miko
You recently published your first EP, “Put
some colors”. Happy with the result?
Yes. It feels great to finally start our discography. It’s our first production and of course
just the beginning, but because of it we already
met a lot of new people, especially promoters
who believed in us and gave us a chance. That
gave us energy to work even more.
Interview Sarah Schug
Why an EP and not an album?
It’s just a first start, we wanted to test the
waters and not do everything too fast. When
we do an album we want to do it the right way –
in a real studio, with more people involved and
more money. The plan is to release it in about
a year from now.
When were the songs written? Can you tell
us more about your creative process?
We were split between Brussels and Liège
at the time so we communicated a lot via internet. We would send each other ideas, the other
one would comment on it or add something
and send it back again. So all songs are a mix
of both of us in the end.
Music
Where and how did you record?
We recorded the songs in a barn that
belongs to Gilles’ parents and did almost everything with our computers. We had no real drums
for example. It was just the two of us at the time,
the others joined later.
So how did two become four?
It was pretty impossible to play our songs
live on stage with only two people. So luckily
Ben and Jan joined us.
You’ve played a lot of concerts lately, also in
Germany and the Netherlands. How were
you received and what was your favourite gig?
The crowds are pretty much the same everywhere. Hamburg was weird though, people seemed
really bored but afterwards everyone told us how
much they liked the show. The best gig was definitely in Frankfurt, in this place that looked like an
old squat. It was completely crowded and dirty and
people just went crazy. That was cool, especially
because we don’t have any press in Germany.
I saw you made a video teaser to promote
your EP.
Gilles shot it himself at an old house in the
middle of nowhere. He’s originally a photographer. We like to work with visuals and want to
be in control of everything regarding the band.
That’s why we work with an overall theme that
can be found in all elements of the project – the
video, what we wear on stage, the decoration of
the instruments, the EP cover…
What do you talk about in your lyrics? Is it
all about personal experiences? I have the
impression that you write a lot about personal relationships and love.
We focus on simple themes, we want that
people can recognize themselves without being
too direct. Recurring subjects are feelings, families,
responsibilities, and regrets. In the end you have to
feel it in the music, the text is not the essence. We
would never write anything political. When we
write the songs, the music comes first and the lyrics
are added afterwards. We also like the paradox of
combining happy music with sad lyrics.
Most of your songs go quite in the sugary
indie pop direction, others have more of an
electro sound to them. Why is that and in
which direction will you go in the future?
We enjoy mixing different styles and
showing some variation. It’s a bit like having
a bright and a dark side. At the live shows we
started to realise that the energetic songs work
much better. One of the reasons we didn’t do
more of this kind was our limited equipment.
It’s difficult when you only have computers to
work with. That’s going to be different on our
album, we want to make it more powerful.
57
What are your influences? Your intro
reminds me of The Album Leaf for example.
How would you describe your sound?
Yes, we really like The Album Leaf.
We listen to a lot of indie bands such as The
Whitest Boy Alive or Errors. But we are also
quite into post-rock and experimental stuff
which influences us a lot. That’s what we want
to do: Pop/rock with an experimental edge
to it.
So what do the colors of the song titles
symbolise?
The intro we titled “White” because it’s
like starting out on a white page. “Red” plays
with themes as blood and death, it’s aggressive.
The song “Green’ is about someone who has
lived in the city for a while and now wants to
move back to the countryside, go back to the
roots. Interestingly we first wrote the songs and
then chose the titles.
What’s the story behind your single,
“Red” ? Is it about a dying friend?
It’s about a friend of a friend who killed
a friend and weirdly doesn’t feel bad about it.
Not related to any personal experiences!
The collective you’re part of is also
based on a color. Where does the name
JauneOrange come from?
Apparently one of the founders of the collective had an apartment with a room brightly
colored in yellow and orange.
ˆ
To continue with the color symbolism: The
music industry also has some grey areas, I’m
thinking of illegal downloading for instance.
How do you experience this, are these developments counterproductive or helpful?
It probably helps more than it hinders. It’s
good especially for new bands. Everyone in
the world has the possibility to listen to our
stuff. The internet makes it easy to be discovered but it also makes it harder to stay and have
a lasting impact. And you just can’t earn money
with making albums anymore!
We rehearse in the
countryside, in the High
Fens region, an area
where there’s fog and
mist almost every day
ˇ
Let’s talk about colours – something we
like very much at The Word. Why the band
name? It sounds very Belgian in a way.
“Pale Grey” refers to the Belgian sky: We
rehearse in the countryside, in the High Fens
region, an area where there’s fog and mist almost
every day. From the barn where we practised
we can only see a little window that looks out
on the landscape and the greyish fog and mist.
Apparently that’s the case for almost 200 days a
year there.
What about “Put some colors”, the title of
your EP?
Our sound was much softer in the beginning. Later we added different elements and
spiced it up a little. It’s a bit like when you paint
and have to fill a blank canvas.
Everything is color-inspired, even the
name of the collective you belong to and
all the song titles on your EP. Why is that?
With the name of the label we have nothing
to do of course. But Gilles is a photographer
and a very visual person, so that’s one thing.
And we all not only enjoy music but also like
to stimulate other senses. We wanted to do a
whole artistic project, not just songs. And using
colors as a symbol give a lot of room for inspiration and freedom.
How has it helped you to be part of the
JauneOrange Collective?
Just being able to use their name already
helps a lot. We get a lot of advice, are included
in their newsletters and they also book our gigs.
How are the relations with the other bands?
It’s like a big family. Almost everyone is
from Liège, we rehearse in the same place, play
shows together, go to each others concerts…
it’s a small artistic community. And a lot of
musicians are involved in several different
JauneOrange projects, as Ben who also plays
with Hollywood Porn Stars.
What do you guys do when you don’t play
with the band?
Gilles organises exhibitions for a cultural
centre, Max does press work and booking for
JauneOrange, Ben works as an engineer and Jan
studies literature.
And who would you really like to open for
one day? What has been your favourite so far?
We really enjoyed playing with Syd Matters.
But our favourite would definitely be 13 & God.
Pale Grey’s latest EP, “Put Some Colors”, came out on
JauneOrange in May 2011.
myspace.com/palegreymusic
58
The columns
Uphigh Collective
Somewhere between future soul and electronica you’ll find the eclectic,
sophisticated and thoughtfully constructed sounds of Uphigh Collective.
Having made a name for themselves with their 7” Blend that even got
airplay across the Atlantic, the loosely knitted collective of Leuvenbased musicians and visual artists certainly has a bright future ahead
of them. We caught up with William, one of its founding members,
to talk about their latest projects, the challenges of performing analogue
and hip hop influences.
Photographer Pauline Miko
Interview Sarah Schug
What are you guys working on at the moment?
Right now we’re focusing on our new live
show which is pretty much finished but still
needs some fine-tuning.
how to do that, how to connect everything technically and blend it together. But we managed
and now we have a new show where we perform
everything the analogue way.
Can you tell me more about that?
We really enjoy analogue sounds and the
analogue performance: The art of controlling
everything on the spot. We wanted to bring that
on stage. It was actually quite hard to figure out
Why didn’t you already do that earlier?
Too complicated?
Originally we are all bedroom producers
and didn’t make songs with the idea of performing them. That’s completely different now.
When we went into the studio together and
locked ourselves up for two weeks, we constantly asked ourselves: How do we want to perform
this? The first thing we had to do was to create a
setup that enabled us to play live and produce at
the same time. So now we can even jam on stage
if we want to. We finally found our flow. I know,
for a regular band this is the most obvious thing,
but as an electronic band we really had to search
how to play our sounds and effects in a live show.
Music
What’s your favourite equipment? Do you
also play real instruments?
None of us have a real musical background. We just taught ourselves how to push
buttons and turn knobs. That’s one of the
differences with regular bands. But when we
want to change a sound we cannot just click
next, we need to change all the knobs on every
instrument. So it kind of takes us back to the
70s when the bands had to really master their
equipment. Take the Korg MS 20 for example
that we use for the bass – it’s so easy to make a
mistake. We also use Korg Monopoly to make
random patterns and the main sound comes
from a Guno 106. The drum machine is a 108.
You started as three-piece I-sa and then
grew bigger and changed your name –
what’s the story?
You can compare it to a family that grows
constantly. First it was just Ducap and me. We
did some beats together and then wanted to
take it to a higher level musically. We met up
with a friend who had a jazz background and he
would play our keys. That worked really well
for us. For two or three years we just played in
the basement, did some demos, had fun and
got to know the instruments. The guy who was
responsible for the keys moved to Barcelona
though and we met a few other guys at a beat
session in town who were really on the same
wavelength. We started jamming together the
same night and Uphigh Collective was born.
How did you choose the name?
I used to work in a skate shop in Leuven
called Lowdown. My friends were hanging out
there a lot. We just turned the name around
and made it Uphigh.
You mentioned spending two weeks in the
studio, what’s your recording process like?
Now we have a really nice place at the
Depot in Leuven. Before our equipment was
just in a living room. For ’Blend’ we didn’t really
plan the recording, we just made a beat one
night, Delvis came along for the first time, took
the microphone, and sang. I remember I went
down to the night shop to buy some drinks and
when I came back upstairs they showed me his
first vocals - it was so impressive. He just came
up with it on the spot, without writing lyrics or
anything. Things rather just happened without
planning them back then.
Your first single was pretty soulful and
your newer tracks go more in the electronica direction. How would you describe
your sound?
Now we are definitely working more on
the electronic aspect, but it’s hard to describe.
We are into many different types of music. One
night we do soul music and on another night we
are into up-tempo stuff. We are not focused on
one thing in particular, but we do try to find
our own sound. “Blend” came out very fast and
I wouldn’t define our sound or genre with it. It’s
something we can do and we like to do, but at
the moment we are more into electronic-driven
and bass-driven music.
What musicians do you look up to?
We are really into the sounds of things.
You can hear if musicians really look for a
special sound and experiment with it. I like
when people try to find something of their own.
We really enjoy Jimmy Edgar, Africa Hitech or
Lazer Sword.
ˆ
You can compare it
to a family that grows
constantly. First it was
just Ducap and me.
We did some beats
together and then
wanted to take it to a
higher level musically
ˇ
Do you see yourselves as part of a certain genre?
I guess we are located in the electronic
corner but the main thing about us is that we all
have a hip hop background. We can all enjoy
Mobb Deep (laughs). Hip Hop was the music
of our teenage years. And we still enjoy that a
lot, so you can even today still find some serious
hip hop beats in our stuff. You can always hear
if someone has a hip hop history, even if the
person is making dance music now. It has a big
influence in terms of how you think about music.
Who do you like in the Belgian scene?
We learned a lot and got a lot of opportunities from the guys from Infinite Skills and
Monkey Robot. They really supported us.
They are older than us and were always one
step ahead of us. Addicted Krew Sound is a
band that influences us because they play next
door in the Depot, even though they do something completely different.
I really like ”Aid Ok”, can you tell me
more about that?
“Aid Ok” was actually the starting point
of the new live show. Ronaldo was the driving
59
force behind the idea to bring the analogue
sound out of our rehearsal room, and while
he was trying to find a way to do so, ”Aid Ok”
was created. We released it end of August and
that was the point when we decided: From now
on we’ll only release tracks that define our new
sound and that we can perform live.
How did you get together with the
On-point label?
We are not signed actually. Alex from
On-point had an agreement with Title to put
out Caravan on 7’’ and they told him he could
choose whoever he wanted for the D side.
Luckily he chose us! Alex really liked our stuff
and organised a lot of shows for us. He promoted us last year with “Blend,” but we don’t have
any future plans together. We are very close
with Title though, he gives us a lot of feedback.
Is one of your goals to find a label?
Yes, definitely. We are still fine-tuning the
new songs and transforming them into studio
versions. We only put out two tracks to give a
glimpse of what’s coming. But yes, if someone
is interested, we are open for business.
What music would you consider grey?
Purple Naked Ladies from The Internet.
I know it has purple in the name, but it feels
very grey. You don’t know where to locate them,
soul, electronica, …
Where do you really want to play one day?
Worldwide Festival, definitely. The location is unbelievable, it’s at the beach, in the
middle of the summer. I was there last year and
that’s when I said to myself: We have to play
here one day!
What are your plans for this year?
We’re currently working on a few remixes
which will probably be released in September
and also a dubplate with two new tracks for djs
to play this summer. If we can finish this year
with some good songs and a good live reputation that we can build on, we’d be very proud.
uphighcollective.com
60
The word with
Daniel Miller
Daniel Miller has always been a relentless force in
experimental electronic music, first with his own project
The Normal, which had an underground hit with the
track “Warm Leatherette” back in 1978, then with his own
imprint Mute, which he founded in 1979. He also started
the Grey Area as a spin-off to Mute with the aim to release
re-issues of some of the bands that shaped his own musical
upbringing – Can, Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire
amongst them. We spoke to him over the phone to talk
about his formative years at Guildford, going back to being
independent after 10 years under EMI ownership and the
Kraftwerk original vocoder he bought on eBay.
Photographer Pauline Miko
Interview Nicholas Lewis
Music
61
Can you tell me about your days at Guildford
and the kind of vibe around that time?
Well, I’d just left home and gone straight
from school to college. It was one year after the
’68 demonstrations so it was still a very politically active time, especially in colleges. There
was a lot of disruption with student strikes
and demonstrations in the summer before we
started out. A lot of the staff had been fired
because they supported the students. When
we arrived it was a very different regime to the
one we had signed up for so it was kind of in a
feeling of conflict and rebellion.
Listening to the music you were making
around that time or a couple of years later,
it sounds like it was very tense.
There were a lot of things going on with
myself: growing up, being away from home for
the first time, just normal stuff really. In terms
of music, I was just starting to discover things
through my own and visiting record shops.
I was very passionate about music. That period
of the 60s was very fast moving in terms of
music. It kind of expanded and moved on, and
became something completely different from
1963 to 1969. I was looking for something new
all the time and that’s how I started to hear the
early German experimental stuff.
At some point you moved to Switzerland
and played over there. Was that when you
discovered all these krautrock bands?
No, it was few years later. God knows, I can’t
remember what I heard first: I think it was either
Amon Düül or early Can. There was a shop in
Guildford in which there was somebody buying
the records who was obviously not in sync with
the house policy… So you had all these great free
jazz records and German imports going for like
really cheap because no one would buy them. It
was a good source; that’s where I bought my first
Amon Düül record. Once you hear something
like that, you think there must be more and you
find it out. I remember hearing Can for the first
time around that time and, you know, that’s how
it evolves. I don’t remember how I specifically
got interested in electronic music per se. There
was a film department that I went to in college.
There were three tape recorders in the small
studio and we would do a lot of stuff like tape
loops and white noise, just basic stuff, exploring.
We were very excited about it; we’d never heard
anything like this before.
What kinds of music tribes were there at
college at that time? Were you guys considered
as oddballs for playing around with equipment, technology and new kinds of sounds?
Not really. On one hand there were guys who
were very much into American, country rock and
singer-songwriter stuff like Crosby, Stills and
From left: Bruce Gilbert’s Insiding, Add N To (X)’s Add Insult to Injury and Swell Maps’ A Trip to Marineville
Nash, and on the other hand most people were
into Jimmy Hendrix. I was always very dismissive about other people’s musical taste and was
always trying to turn people on to this or that,
and trying to find new stuff. One qualification
for running a record label is to be a great fan of
ideological things. It’s about the music you like.
You have to have very strong ideas and for me,
I have to dislike 99 percent of everything.
ˆ
I was always very
dismissive about other
people’s musical taste
and was always trying to
turn people on to this or
that, and trying to find
new stuff
ˇ
Your fascination with Ballard’s writing
is quite well documented. Was Warm
Leatherette based on the characters from
one of the books?
Well, it’s inspired by the idea of the book.
I had this kind of artistic partner in college
with whom I made music. Then after that we
kind of lost touch. I travelled, lots of things
happened and I read Crash by J.G Ballard a
few years later in 1973. I got back to London
and wanted to tell him about it so I phoned
him and the first thing he said was “Have you
read this book? It’s called Crash”. We were
both unemployed at that time because the film
industry was not prospering, so we decided to
write a script based on the book, without any
real vision, just more as an exercise. We spent
quite a lot of time doing it and then nothing
really happened with it. I thought that we’d
put so much effort into it that we couldn’t stop
now. I wanted to use that. I was so familiar with
the book I wanted to carry it and distil it in a
three-minute song.
If I am not mistaken you sold 40,000 units
of that song in the first year.
I don’t know. I can’t remember.
But it was quite a big hit.
It went quite well but it wasn’t “a hit”. I don’t
know if it was 40,000 but it was a hell of a lot
more than I expected. It became an underground
hit, which completely took me by surprise.
How did the whole Grace Jones cover
happen?
Chris Blackwell, who was the founder of
Island Records, was working with her on her
new album. Somehow, he heard the single and
played it in the studio. And then they pressed
me about publishing because they wanted to
release it so I said “Why not? Sure, go ahead”.
It was pretty naïve, business-wise.
62
The word with
Was it something you were pretty thrilled
about or you didn’t really care?
I couldn’t quite believe it. It’s not my
version, it’s her version but it exposed the song.
I guess it was a compliment.
Moving on to Mute, you guys went independent in 2010 after 10 year under EMI’s
wing. Was it a purely financial move or
were there other creative reasons for you?
I decided to sell the company at a certain
point because we were having a rough time financially and I was looking for some kind of investor. Because we weren’t doing very well, we didn’t
get a lot of response. Just as things got really bad,
Moby’s Play album became a worldwide hit and
sold 10 million records. It made a huge difference
to a company like Mute so we wanted to have a
partner and then all of the sudden everyone
wanted to be partners with me. I decided to go
with EMI because I had worked with them and
knew the guy who ran it, who was to become the
head of EMI in Europe. He understood what
Mute was about. So I just wrote down all of the
things I wanted in terms of control etc and they
pretty much agreed to everything. Over the years,
EMI started to have problems of their own, new
management came in and they didn’t really
understand what the culture of Mute was. They
understood why Depeche Mode and Moby were
there but not why Mute was there. All of a sudden
I found myself in an environment that had no
relation to the one I had entered into. I had creative freedom but felt like Mute as a label was going
backwards. I don’t think I’m a very good team
player and finally EMI and I came to an agreement whereby I would start a new company and
they would license me the name Mute, some catalogues, and some of the artists would move as well.
So in 2010 I started a new company, which works
under the name Mute, with pretty much the same
stuff, quite a lot of the same artists and kind of
the same catalogue. Obviously they didn’t let me
have some of the bigger names but that’s fine.
So how exactly have you benefited by going
back independent?
Well, I do whatever I want.
Do you still go out a lot and discover new
bands?
Yeah, I go out fair enough and people come
to see me too. We listen to stuff and decide
together. The last one I personally brought in
was probably Apparat.
Which bands are you most excited about
today and which ones would you love to
bring to Mute?
Oh God (laughs). We only sign things to
Mute if we’re all very excited about it so I’d
say all the current projects we’re working on
Yazoo’s You and Me Both
like Apparat, SCUM, Big Deal, Beth Jeans
Houghton, Liars,… All those things are very
exciting. We signed a lot of new stuff when we
went independent again.
Are there any “new kids on the block”
amongst the stuff you’ve heard lately…?
These guys like Big Deal and SCUM are
all very, very young bands. They’re in their late
teens or very early 20s. There are all very young
kids and I like working with young musicians,
young artists, it gives me a big challenge as well.
Are there any non-Mute artists you love to
listen to?
It may sound very closed-minded but when
you’re working on so many records it’s very hard
to listen to music for pure entertainment. I’ll
listen to music when I’m thinking of signing it.
Because my head is not in entertainment mode
but in analytical mode. I’m not very good at
multi tasking. Of course there is loads of stuff
out there that is interesting. I’ve been doing some
more DJing recently and I have a radio show in
Berlin that I’ve been doing for a really long time.
ˇ
Can you talk to us about Grey Area? Why
was it important to reissue certain bands’
catalogues?
We didn’t start out by saying: “let’s do that”.
What really happened was that Throbbing
Gristle stopped working together and they asked
us to take over Industrial Records. We were
friends of theirs and we were fans so we were very,
very happy to do it. Then all of a sudden I was
approached by Can, who were one of my favourite bands in my life, I mean they influenced me
and millions of other musicians. That opportunity was great and we thought we’d separate the reissues from the Mute frontline of new releases and
this is where we came up with a separate name:
Grey Area. It’s part-fandom, part-archivist work.
How exactly do you work with them? Are
you still in the studio with them or is it
more like coaching and mentoring?
It depends. It’s very different from artist
to artist. I usually end up in the studio with
them at some point or another. Not producing
the record but just helping them finish it, or if
I have a strong view about a song or some final
details. It’s a good time for me to get involved
– when everybody else is tired and have heard
everything for a hundred times, it’s good to
have a pair of fresh ears and a bit of input.
It has a strong cultural element in it…
Yeah, it’s an important thing to keep this music
going. When we started the Grey Area it was quite
easy for those musicians to just to slip out of shops,
slip out of the distribution area and disappear.
These days it’s less likely to happen because everything is on the Internet but still, it’s not just about
putting the records out, it’s about helping people
whose catalogue may disappear and sometimes it
means reissuing, re-mastering, doing box sets, all
those little things. Things that the fans like, the
artists like. It keeps the music alive.
ˆ
I don’t think I’m a
very good team
player and finally
EMI and I came to an
agreement whereby
I would start a new
company
Music
63
How exactly did the Can thing happen?
The band owns their masters on Spoon
Records, which is the band basically. The person
who runs Spoon records is Hildegard Schmidt,
the wife of Irmin Schmidt. She’s been taking care
of the business side from day one. I met her once
in the Rough Trade shop very briefly (I think that
they had a license with somebody else and it was
running out) and somebody said to her: “You
must see Daniel, he’s a huge fan!” So she got in
touch, I was flattered, we talked and it all went
very well. Because she’s full of energy and ideas
we have constantly been reissuing things, making
different version, documentaries, books and
important things you can bring to the audience.
I’m not a music expert so tell me if it is completely irrelevant but is re-mastering a Can
record similar to touching up a Da Vinci
for example?
No, it’s more like cleaning a Da Vinci. It’s
like finding a painting somewhere in the attic
and trying to make it look like it was in the first
place. So it’s not changing the picture, it’s getting
back to how the artist originally saw it. It’s not
mixing, it’s just mastering. Taking the original
master tape and readjusting it so that it sounds
as good as possible on the CD. You know, when
CDs first came out, people wanted to put everything on CD, but they didn’t really have the
technology or the understanding of how to
make it work. There were a lot of CDs that were
basically shit. The technology was not there nor
the experience. 25 years later things got so much
better. That’s why you re-master CDs: because
the old ones didn’t sound very good.
This might be an obvious one: why did you
decide to call it the Grey Area?
I don’t think I did, it was the guy running
Mute – John Mcrobie, who no longer works
here – who came up with it. He started the
idea of doing it and oversaw the Grey Area.
It is kind of hard to play with words really:
industrial grey, grey area, in between things…
the vague zone.
How do you pick which bands’ catalogues
you are going to reissue?
Partly, what is available then things we like
of course. We tried to do Neu! for about 10
years and we failed. Neu! is really what I wanted
to do because nobody released CDs at that time,
there were a lot of bootlegs. We had individual
agreements with members of the band but the
band could not agree between themselves. It was
a long struggle. Do you know Grönemeyer?
No, I can’t say I do.
He’s a big German star, he persuaded them
to work with him on his label, Grönland. I was
just very happy that it was done and they did
it very well, according to policy, respectful.
I know that it was not Mute but someone else,
but they did their job. I’m happy and I’m not
possessive about it.
ˆ
We thought we’d
separate the reissues
from the Mute frontline
of new releases and
this is where we came
up with a separate name:
Grey Area. It’s partfandom, part-archivist
work
ˇ
Obviously, anybody is going to say this –
especially if you are running an independent label – this is not a commercial venture
for you?
Well, it all has to be commercial at some
point. Can have been commercially successful, Cabaret Voltaire as well. All those things
don’t sell very much every week but we’ve been
working with these catalogues for years and
years and they continue to sell. Every time we
re-promote it, we sell some more. It’s important
income for us and it’s important income for the
artists as well.
A lot has been made about the Kraftwerk
vocoder you bought. Can you tell me how
much you paid for it or is it completely out
of order?
It is completely out of order (laughs). A lot
more then I should have. But, the way I see it is:
if you’re a guitarist and the guitar that Jimmy
Hendrix played Purple Haze on went for sale,
it would just be priceless. It’s even more than
that because Hendrix played on a Fender
Stratocaster but this was a one-off, never to
be repeated piece, so it is expensive but I’m
delighted that I acquired it.
Who did you buy it off?
It was actually sold by the band. I didn’t
know Ralf Hütter (the leader of Kraftwerk) was
selling it. What’s funny is that I know him a bit
and it was on eBay. But as it was under a different
name, I had no idea it was him. Then one day
I get an email saying, “Daniel, you gotta check
this out, you might be interested”, with the link
to the vocoder auction. A colleague of mine is a
big eBay person; he understands the tricks etc.
so I asked him to bid on it in his name. At the
end Ralf figured out that it was me and I figured
out he was selling direct. I think he felt a bit bad
about how much it was, so he made this lovely
stuff like a special authenticity certificate for me.
Is it the kind of thing you’d insure?
Absolutely! It’s not replaceable.
You must have some pretty insane electricity bills at home!
It’s not cheap. Problem is: you just never
really switch this off; it’s too risky to switch off!
Is there still a piece of equipment that is on
your wish list?
No, not really. I’ve got too much stuff
anyway as it is.
mute.com
64
The playlist
Pieter Dirkx
Young Belgian filmmaker Pieter Dirkx, a graduate from Antwerp’s Royal
Fine Arts Academy and St Lucas in Brussels and whose movies have
been shown at renowned film festivals from Cannes to Montreal, has
just finished what is possibly his most prominent work to date: the music
video for “Maniac”, the latest single of celebrated Brooklyn indie rock
band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Other than that he was recently
invited to the Küstendorf festival by cinema legend Emir Kusturica
and is now working on a feature film about an alternate reality where
redheads are considered as evil. We asked him to put together what a
grey playlist would sound like to him.
Illustrator Virassamy
Visage
Fade to Grey
Polydor
An obligatory choice for this list! This song
always makes me wish I had experienced the
80s more consciously.
Geinoh Yamashirogumi
Kaneda
Victor Music Industries, Demon Records/JVC Records
Akira is one of the things that inspired me
the most to become a filmmaker. It’s the
most sombre, gloomy animated film I know.
The soundtrack is unlike anything else you’ll
ever hear and it matches the richly detailed,
highly desaturated artwork perfectly.
Clogs
The Owl of Love
Brassland Records
This sounds like it could have been written
by Monteverdi and it features guest
vocals by my friend Shara Worden from
“My Brightest Diamond”. The song is about
an owl that’s awake at night and goes to
sleep in the grey morning light.
Wild Beasts
Albatross
Domino
Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark
2nd Thought
DinDisc
For me, “Organisation” is OMD’s best
album. It also has the most beautiful and
appropriate cover image. The photograph
of the desolate volcanic landscape puts the
music in an entirely different light.
Another song about birds! This one features
an albatross crossing the vast, cold oceans.
Hayden Thorpe and Tom Fleming both
have amazing voices and I hope they’ll keep
writing many more songs like this.
Grizzly Bear
Deep Blue Sea
4AD
Daniel Rossen and Ed Droste sing about
a blue sea, but whenever I hear this song
I imagine whales and jellyfish swimming so
deep that the water becomes dark grey. It’s
an especially simple song to Grizzly Bear’s
standards, but one of their finest.
Andrew Morgan
Five Paintings
Broken Horse
If grey had a vocal equivalent, Andrew
Morgan’s voice would come pretty close. This
almost unknown album is perfect winter music.
Music
My Brightest Diamond
She Does Not Brave the War
Asthmatic Kitty
This is a beautiful song about the unnoticeable women who work like crazy to take care
of their families without getting the recognition that heroes usually do.
The Cure
A Forest
Rhino Records
Any song by The Cure could go on this
list, but “A Forest” is still one of their most
haunting ones.
Clare & the Reasons
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Fargo Records
This cover of the Tears for Fears song has a
wonderful arrangement for strings. I bought
the album during the stormy holidays in
Brittany where I made my very first short
film on the stony grey beaches of CamaretSur-Mer. This music was the soundtrack to
many location hunting trips.
Modest Mouse
Float On
65
Bright Eyes
Road To Joy
Saddle Creek
Conor Oberst’s dark and bleak lyrics often
make a great contrast with his upbeat music,
and this is one of his most pessimistically
cheerful tunes. “If you’re asked to fight a war
that’s over nothing, it’s best to join the side
that’s gonna win,” is probably the one line
he’ll be remembered for the most.
Moonface
Marimba and Shit-Drums
Jagjaguwar
This bold song by Spencer Krug from Wolf
Parade and Sunset Rubdown is made up
entirely of marimba, synthesised drums and
many layers of voices. It’s as unusual as its
silver cover artwork.
Epic
The Shins
The Past and Pending
Warner Bros. Records
After hearing this for about a thousand
times, I can still say this is probably one of
my favorite songs ever. A perfect song for
when it’s really bad weather outside!
Isaac Brock has the most nuanced, ironic
lyrics I’ve ever heard. With witty album titles
like “Good News For People Who Love Bad
News”, ’We Were Dead Before the Ship
Even Sank’ and ’No One’s First And You’re
Next’, nothing is every really black or white
for Modest Mouse.
Mew
Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy
Sony
This song comes from my favorite album
of theirs called “No More Stories Are Told
Today I’m Sorry They Washed Away No
More Stories the World Is Grey I’m Tired
Let’s Wash Away”. The title summarises the
melancholic tone of the songs very well.
Animal Collective
Brother Sport
Domino
Arcade Fire
No Cars Go
Merge
For me this is the most beautiful Arcade Fire
song, both lyrically and musically. It’s about
the blurry moment where you fall asleep and
dreams start to take shape. For the sake of
extra greyness I’d choose the much rougher,
original version from their self-titled EP.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Isle of the Dead
London
I love almost everything by Rachmaninoff,
but this is one of his most chilling compositions. It was inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s
famous paintings that show a man in a boat
approaching a dark island on misty waters.
Woodkid
Iron
Green United Music
This song has one of the most impressive
black and white music videos I’ve ever seen.
It shows many different kinds of warriors
being bombarded with black smoke in front
of a plain grey background.
My Morning Jacket
Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Pt. 2
Rough Trade
There’s a lot of songs I like to play when it’s
raining, and this is another one that always
makes me want to sit under a warm blanket.
If Visage let us fade to grey, Animal
Collective can let us fade back to bright
colors. They’re one of my favorite bands
because of how they reinvented music to
create their unique sound. It evokes the most
vibrant, psychedelic images. Brother Sport
is their most epic song to date and makes
all imagination-stimulating substances
obsolete.
67
Over
1.000.000.000
images
have been uploaded to Instagram since it
launched in October 2010,
There are
the same price Facebook recently paid for it.
1 million
In Belgium,
photographs are uploaded to
Facebook everyday
7
photography
galleries
in Belgium
The photography special
2
Belgium has
Apple
has sold
more than
218
million
iPhones
photography
museums
An average of
250
million photographs
are uploaded daily
to Facebook
110 million
digital cameras were shipped
around the globe in 2011
68
The specials papers
Dieudonné Cartier’s Selection of collection
Selection of collection n°002 (Slides)
Nicholas Gottlund
Nicholas Gottlund
Nicholas Gottlund
Benoit Grimalt’s Trésor caché de la Côte d’Azur
Jurgen Maelfeyt’s The Swing (APE)
Jurgen Maelfeyt’s The Swing (APE)
publishing a zine in your new adoptive country
can help to set your feet more firmly on your new
turf. And it’s true that zines can communicate in
a very direct language; that of the present image,
without the need for too many words.
Benoit Grimalt is French, likes experimental music and weird movies and once
photographed Jean-Luc Godard for French
newspaper Liberation. His work often betrays
a kind of distant humour as well as the irony of
everyday life. He organises gigs in the city and
photocopies raw zines and flyers for distribution at parties. One of his zines is called Trésor
Caché de la Côte d’Azur and is published by
Poursuite Editions. It’s printed with a risograph, the ancestor to the Xerox machine, using
a process that produces bright colors, something
that’s coming back into fashion in the zine scene.
The Swing is another risographed and wonderfully psychedelic zine produced by Flemish
designer Jurgen Maelfeyt that’s filled with
pictures of the cosmos. A couple of years ago,
Jurgen created Art Paper Editions in Ghent, a
small publishing imprint that focuses on contemporary art and design as well as random
images of girls fighting in the mud or surrealistic
collages of breasts encountering watches.
Theophile Calot and Eleonore Joulin are
a young and dynamic French couple also based
in Brussels. He publishes zines and distributes
free copies with his bike at openings, organising small press salons in the hip and trendy
corners of Europe, while she collects images of
Chernobyl and the Titanic, representing these
iconic disasters in oversized zines. Not the
oldest, but one of the earliest in the zine publishing scene is Bartolomé Sanson’s Kaugummi
which he founded in 2005 and whose pages
have featured photographers like Alec Soth
and Todd Hido, all before Sanson himself
reached 25. Working with artists from his own
generation, he discovered photographers like
Jeff Luker before he was hired by Levis to shoot
the Go Forth Campaign. After publishing more
than 130 titles, Bartolomé stopped Kaugummi
last summer and has moved on to a new project
called Shelter Press that will feature the creme
de la creme of photography… to be continued,
xeroxed, sold out and reprinted. (FA)
© Pauline Miko
BNT by Pica Pica
A photo-zine
a day keeps
the doctor
away
From the DIY movement to organisations like
Self Publish Be Happy, the zine scene’s never
been quite as lively as in recent years. And this
is particularly true for the photography variety.
From Erik Van der Weijde to Ed Templeton and
the New York Book Art Fair, to photo-blogs like
One Year of Books or Little Brown Mushroom,
it’s not just going on a mission to collect them
that’s getting more and more popular; publishing is now all the rage too. So what about Belgian
photo zines then? We’ve chosen a non-exhaustive collection: spontaneous, fast, teenager-ish,
egotistical, brilliant – and cheap. They’re an
artistic balancing act between punk and conceptualism. Many of the zines listed here are produced by foreigners living in Belgium, as though
benoit.grimalt.free.fr
poursuite-editions.org
artpapereditions.org
kaugummi.fr
The photography special
69
First, let’s sit on a rock and think: what is a
landscape made of? The colour green? The
absence of urbanism? Can a landscape even
exist without the human eye? Perhaps Jan
Kempenaers asked himself these questions
when he shot the images for Spomenik and The
Picturesque. Spomenik is a series of abstract,
monumental and almost cosmic images of
landmarks in the former Yugoslavia. Grey concrete figures stand muted in the middle of isolated fields, somewhere between Tarkowski’s
zone in his movie Stalker and Camille Corot’s
French countryside cliché. The treatment of
this very graphic and silent subject may take
its cues from the school of photography known
as the New Topgraphics and led by Lewis
Baltz, Robert Adams, The Becher and the
likes. It’s also interesting to know that when the
Belgian photographer travelled to the former
Yugoslavia, he sometimes had to make drawings of what he was looking for for the locals:
difficult to reach battlegrounds and monuments, witnesses to World War II, from a time
when the Balkans constituted one single force
and wanted to be remembered as such, places
where the landscape had experienced so much
change that their meaning had turned into a
riddle. We met Jan Kempeners in Ghent at the
Kiosk Gallery at HOGENT art school, and he
was just a couple of weeks shy of presenting his
PhD “In search of The Picturesque”. His workin-progress was to be exhibited by the gallery
in conjunction with a monumental sculpture by
Karsten Fodinger, a beautiful and cold gigantic
metal cage called, in clever paradox, “Void”.
This white cube, unfolded into several rooms,
featured photographs you might have encountered in books by independent art publishers
ROMA. It’s interesting to meet pictures hung
vertically on a wall when you’re used to enjoying them up close in the privacy of a book, or in
jpeg form, reblogged on your tumblr. Suddenly,
in the three dimensional space of the gallery,
the images appear and they don’t belong to you
anymore; they’re bigger, stronger and more
mysterious. An image faces you, as if it had
its own eye, and you almost exchange glances.
Islands touching the sea, grey ruins, trees in
the snow, falling stones depicting the loss and
the passage of time that is as romantic as it is
political. Jan Kempeners took his inspiration
from books, the very books that led him to the
landscapes he decided to shoot. And with the
landscapes captured on camera, Kempeners is
making more books. The publishers at ROMA
are two accomplished artist themselves: Mark
© Sarah Eechaut
The possibility
of landscape
Menders and Roger Willems, and documentas-subject is a crucial part of their work.
ROMA has published many art books since
1998, from editions of two copies to 150, 000,
and they’re considered major players in the
field of contemporary art books. Their evergrowing catalogue includes artists such as
Nigel Shafran, Batia Suter, Dirk Braeckman
and Aglaia Konrad. For more than 20 years,
ROMA has shown the art world how the art
book is sometimes even more important than
the exhibition itself… standing still like a rock
in the face of the grinding passage of time. (FA)
jankempenaers.info
romapublications.org
70
The specials papers
The ones to watch
Being a magazine with somewhat of a penchant for photography, we’re
in the rather enviable position of receiving a great deal of portfolios
on any given day. And, although the majority of them are good, only a
handful manage to get our attention and capture our imaginations. Here
are four of those series which we’ve been particularly keen on lately.
Sarah Carlier
Habitus
With her series “Habitus”, Belgian-born
photographer Sarah Carlier, currently based
in Holland, carefully observes and explores
the long lasting, worn-out habits of people with
an intimate and sensitive eye. For one year she
studied the personal environments of people
living in West Flanders and The Hague, focusing on revealing the remains of a traditional way
of life in the midst of today’s modern society.
“I don’t want to put a finger on urgent social
issues – my focal point is the human existence as
such,” Sarah explains. “My goal is to let people
see the world from a different angle,” something
she skillfully accomplished with “Habitus”.
Sarah’s works are currently exhibited in Antwerp’s
FotoMuseum, Amsterdam’s Tropenmuseum and at the
Stroom art center in The Hague. Her book “Four years,
three deaths, sweaty armpits and a fetus,” has been
nominated for the Dutch-Doc Award 2012.
sarahcarlier.nl
The photography special
71
Quentin de Wispelaere
Burning flowers
After having been trained as an airline pilot
in the US, Quentin, born in Mons and based
in Brussels, took up photography studies
at La Cambre. With his “Burning flowers”
series, he picks up the subject of the fast decay
and strikingly vivid mortality of flowers:
“I wanted to make a series about nature,
human intervention, aesthetics and destruction.” Quentin spent two nights somewhere in
a lost forest in the Belgian countryside shooting flowers, symbolising their passing away by
burning them. “I wanted a more radical and
obvious way of killing flowers than cutting
them, so I decided to put some fuel on them
and light a fire.” Through the use of special
chemicals, he succeeded in making the flames
appear in different colours, creating a mesmerising and vibrating visual effect.
Quentin will soon be covering Paris fashion week
(he is especially looking forward to Raf Simon’s debut
show for Dior).
quentindewispelaere.com
72
Vincent Delbrouck
As dust alights
Vincent Delbrouck is a 36 year old photographer based in Loupoigne, Belgium who also
practices shiatsu therapeutic massages. His
series “As dust alights”, which he has been
working on for the past four years, is a way for
him to, as he puts it, “share with images the
energy I get from the periods I was travelling
in Nepal and India.” Imbued of a resolutely
intrinsic approach to photography, Vincent’s
work sits somewhere in between auto-fiction
and poetry, staying clear of casting any kind
of westernised filter on the elements he
chooses to capture: “There is a flow. And
maybe a fiction you can imagine with all that:
the characters, the animals, the stones, the
trees, the colors and the light.”
Vincent currently has a solo show at Cardiff’s Third Floor
gallery and is working on a new book for ’As dust alights’.
vincentdelbrouck.be
The specials papers
The photography special
Lara Mennes
Capturing the sensible
Born and based in Antwerp, with a Masters in
Fine Arts from Central Saint Martins, Lara’s
series “Capturing the sensible” is a search for
memoirs in architecture, an archive of the
forgotten artefacts of a building’s inner being,
those that leave a trace of its past human activity. Capturing the interiors of a school, a hospital and a semi-industrial building, the series
looks for meaning in what is usually destined
to be demolished and disregarded. Lara’s
work stops time and gives cause for thought.
“I always work on different projects at the
same time and for a long period. This one took
about two years. I think it is important that
a project has time to grow and develop.”
Lara is currently working on a permanent installation for
the garden of the Emile van Doren Museum in Genk, titled
“Dans l’ombre du coin perdu.” She will also be taking part in
the group show “Between Stories” running from 19 th August
until 14th October in Genk.
laramennes.be
73
74
The festival
Bozar’s summer of photography
Bozar’s bi-annual platform for international photography kicks
of on 14th June, uniting over 30 museums and other cultural
organisations in a two month-long programme of exhibitions
and talks around one central theme – landscape. In its fourth
edition, the biennial spreads out across Brussels, Antwerp,
Charleroi, Ostend, Knokke-Heist and Hornu. Here, we select
four shows to be pencilled into your agendas.
1.
Sense of place
© Elina Brotherus
Drawing on more than 160 works from 40
European photographers, this exhibition,
the festival’s main one, takes a look at the
evolving nature of the relationship between
man and environment. More specifically, the
show seeks to illustrate how today’s landscape
has been shaped by the modern day
realities of a post-industrial society marred
by concerns for its environmental future.
Traditionally a focal point of photography,
landscapes as we knew them have drastically
changed over the years – appropriated,
manipulated and redefined to suit man’s
many needs – and, with that, so to has our
interactions with them. Demonstrating the
importance of the surroundings in shaping
the individual, the show is separated into
three geographical sections – Northern,
Central and Mediterranean Europe – and
proves that Europe isn’t merely a political
space, but also a place with personal meaning.
© Ilkka Halso
From 14 th June to 19 th September
Bozar, Brussels
© Massimo Vitali
bozar.be
75
© Pieter Hugo
The photography special
2.
Bamako encounters
© Khalil Nemmaoui
This ninth edition of the internationally
reputed Rencontres de Bamako has as its
central theme “For a sustainable world”.
Drawing on over 280 photographs and
10 videos, the show reveals the underbelly
of European landscapes, presenting a diverse
regional view of horizons that serve to
illustrate the environmental situation on the
African continent. With the customary poetic
narrative African photographers have been
known for, the exhibition exemplifies the
interconnectedness of landscapes in today’s
globalised world, proving that what happens
in Europe is of importance in Africa, and
vice-versa. One of the strongest initiatives to
grow out of the continent, and one which has
done more than any other to establish Africa
as an art force to be reckoned with, especially
in terms of its photographic talent.
From 15th June to 26 th August
© Khalil Nemmaoui
Thurn and Taxi, Brussels
76
The festival
3.
De Buren (The neighbours)
Brussels-based couple Merel ’t Hart and
Luk Vander Plaetse have been roaming The
Netherlands’ urban landscape in a rented
trailer for the past two years now, exploring
notions of Dutch chastity and freedom
through their mesmerising series on a very
specific architectural characteristic: the large
window panes of Dutch houses that allow,
invite nearly, passers-by to peer through.
A striking statement of independence and
transparency, the photographs capture
houses and their inhabitants at dusk, when
natural light disappears and artificial light
takes over. A painstaking work of research
and authorisation requests, the work, a series
of large format prints, is exhibited in Brussels
for the first time.
From 30 th June to 1st September
Centre Culturel Jacques Franck, Brussels
lejacquesfranck.be
The photography special
77
Three additional events
for your agendas
1.
Meet the Artists
4.
Viewpoint – Point of view
Symposium on landscape photography
with Massimo Vitali, Pedro Cabrita Reis,
Céline Clanet and Vesselina Nikolaeva
and Liz Wells (curator of the exhibition
Sense of Place).
Bozar, Brussels
Inspired by the series Barriers-European
Neighbouring, that documented the
evolving function of borders in Europe,
the exhibition Viewpoint-Point of View
sees life from a tourist standpoint. Taking as
starting point the areas from which tourists
photograph certain landscapes, the images
on show emphasise the imposed and dictated
way in which we are told to view certain
landscapes. With a focal point and a picture
frame pre-determined for us, the comfort
of the viewer seems to lie in the restriction
of choice in viewpoints. Four images from
the original series will be shown alongside
new work, all presented by photographer
Michiel De Cleene.
From 14 th June to 16 th September
14 th June from 14h
2.
“Landscapes in contemporary Czech
photography and in my own work.”
Lecture by Pavel Banka, photographer
and editor in chief of Fotograf magazine.
Bozar, Brussels
16 th June from 18h30
3.
Recyclart evening projection
A selection of photographers show their
own vision of the relationship between
nature and city.
Cultuurcentrum Strombeek Grimbergen
ccstrombeek.be
26 th July from 20h
recyclart.be
Bozar’s summer of photography will be running
from 14 th June through to 16 th September in over 20
locations around Belgium.
summerofphotography.be
The festival’s catalogue is available from the
BOZAR Shop.
bozarshop.com
78
The nomination
A stamp of approval
We asked six greats of Belgian photography to nominate
one emerging Belgian photographer that got their stamp of
approval. There’s nothing like getting anointed by those that
paved the way for you.
Stephan Vanfleteren’s nomination Thomas Sweertvaegher
The photography special
79
Dirk Braeckman
nominates
Max Pinckers
One of the most prominent photographers of his generation,
Dirk Braeckman is known for his grey-scaled works that owe
as much to his acute sense of composition as to his restrained
approach (he sometimes doesn’t develop his rolls years after having
shot them). A teacher at Ghent’s Academy for Fine Arts (Kask),
Dirk picked Max Pinckers as his nomination.
What attracted you to Max’s work?
What strikes me most in Max’s work is that he developed a new
approach, something I haven’t seen before. He works within a documentary context yet leans towards staged photography, always expressing a form of theatricality. This grey area in between is where Max’s
images find themselves.
What would you like to see him develop? What I would like to see more of in Max’s work has just arrived
with his new series, “The Fourth Wall.” His first series “Lotus,” based
on transsexuals in Thailand, had a very sensational edge to it. The new
work is moving away from this and achieving a more mysterious feel.
What would you advise him in terms of his work and career?
Don’t be put off of by gallerists and keep doing your own thing.
maxpinckers.be
Gilbert Fastenaekens
nominates
Clément Montagne
His sombre, mysterious and slightly haunting nocturnal studies are
what made Belgian photographer Gilbert Fastenaekens famous.
Living and working in Brussels, he focuses especially on urban landscapes, industrial structures and city views, referencing the German
and French schools of landscape photography and promoting a
documentary style. His nomination: Clément Montagne.
What attracted you to Clément’s work?
What I really like about Clément’s photographs is the atmosphere
they reveal. I like the spirit of the images. And Clément doesn’t just
take photographs: He also creates his own, personal hand-crafted
books with the images he takes.
How did you discover Clément?
Actually in a rather incestuous way: He was my student at Brussels’
ERG school. At the time I met him he was already well-educated by
another former student of mine: Fréderic Barthes. That made it much
easier for me!
What advice would you have for him?
What’s most important is to have confidence in yourself and what
you do. And he should not pay too much attention to the rapidly changing nature of photography and contemporary art – the developments
are just too fast. There’s no point in trying to keep up with that.
80
The nomination
Stephan Vanfleteren
nominates
Thomas Sweertvaegher
Kortrijk-born photographer Stephan Vanfleteren started his career
at De Morgen, going on to make a name for himself beyond Belgian
borders with his striking portraits fraught with social commentary
of individuals living on the fringes of society. The winner of the
World Press Photo award and the prestigious Henri Nannen prize,
he is known for his powerful black and white photography, as radical
as it is sensitive. Besides a well-documented love affair with his
home country, he also aims his lens on conflict zones in Afghanistan
and Kosovo. Stephan’s pick: Ghent-based Thomas Sweertvaegher.
Why did you choose Thomas?
I am fascinated by his series on skateboarders. He shows a
whole different world from its very inside. And I find the liberty, the
slightly anarchic, hippie life of the people shown in these photos very
appealing.
What is it that you like about his work?
He is part of this sociotope and you can see the trust and intimacy
in Thomas’ images. That’s why, even though I have a lot of experience, I would never be able to take the same pictures. I really like that
he exposes a part of society in a way that’s rarely seen – not from the
outside, but from within.
switnphoto.com
Harry Gruyaert
nominates
Bieke Depoorter
With a special focus on the subtleties of light and the power of
colour, Gruyaert’s work has for the last 30 years stayed clear of
any clichés. A member of legendary photo agency Magnum since
1981, the Antwerp-born photographer is especially famous for his
portrayal of Morocco, a country that has continued to fascinate him
throughout the years. Harry Gruyaert picked Bieke Depoorter as his
nomination.
What attracted you to Bieke’s work?
I really like her personal approach. Her images are very intimate,
very personal. She builds a relationship with the people she photographs and sleeps over at their houses for example. And her photographs are always well-composed, also colour-wise.
What would you like to see her develop?
I’ll leave that completely up to her.
What would you advise her in terms of her work and career?
The only advice I have for Bieke is to be herself.
biekedepoorter.be
The photography special
81
Marie-Françoise Plissart
nominates
David De Beyter
Living and working in Brussels, Marie-Françoise Plissart is the author
of a number of books, many originating from the collaboration with her
former partner Benoît Peeters. In 2001 she started a second career
as a filmmaker with her first documentary, “L’occupation des sols”,
and in 2004 she received the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale of
Architecture for her captivating images of Congo’s capital Kinshasa.
But most of the time Plissart directs her lense on her home country,
as in a series entirely shot from Brussels’ rooftops or in her works on
the renovation of the Atomium. Her nomination: David De Beyter. What attracted you to David’s work?
What I like in his work is his adventurous, exploratory side. There
is this sense of freedom about what he does. David is someone who
organises his vision of the world without hesitation and feels completely at ease jumping into a collective memory. My favourite image
is the one with the light-painted house. It is obviously staged and
this staging is intrinsically photographic. It would not make sense in
another medium.
What advice would you have for him?
I know that he’s already done staging with several people (for
example a group of friends sitting in a tree). That image was full of
promise regarding his capacity of uniting people, arranging them in a
certain way and composing a situation. I’d really like to see more of that.
Serge Leblon
nominates
Laetitia Jeurissen
Belgian-born photographer Serge Leblon’s distinctive visual narrative has been shaped through years of shooting for some of the
world’s most important fashion publications, from Another Magazine
and Dazed & Confused to Purple and Self Service. With countless
exhibitions paying tribute to his work and a new monography about
to be launched, Serge is without a doubt one of the great fashion
photographers of his time. He currently is based in Brussels, and
picked Laetitia Jeurissen as his nomination.
What attracted you to Laetitia’s work?
Her capacity to decentralise and bring a critical and human eye on
our society. Her refusal to give in to technology and her attachment to
the essence of photography’s history. Her use of analogue photography
which is rare nowadays and requires a more consistent preparation of
the subject.
Why did you select her?
I had noticed her work at one of La Cambre’s end of year shows.
What would you like to see her develop?
I’d like to see her fine-tune her narrative as well as her technique
and find the tone that suits her best.
82
The object
Man vs. machine
Some shoot digital, others shoot analogue. Some use medium
format, whilst others religiously use large format. Most, however,
aren’t defined by the camera they use although they very much
see their choice of equipment as an extension of their work.
Here we profile three Belgian photographers’ cameras.
Photographer Sarah Eechaut
Satoru Toma
Brussels-based Japanese photographer
Satoru Toma seeks out the marginal landscapes, a city’s behind-the-scenes wilderness.
His recent book Ask the Cat, published by
Le Caillou Bleu, documents a walk along
Brussels’ boundaries.
Satoru is photographed with his
Toyofild 45-A. “(I like it for) its slowness as
well as its format and huge precision.”
Satoru will be taking part in a group show dedicated to
contemporary Belgian photography at Bucharest’s MNAC
from 30 th May 2012.
satorutoma.com
The photography special
83
Michel Mazzoni
Michel Mazzoni is based in Brussels since
2007. His work explores notions of time,
space and territory and is a constant balancing act between light, focal point and frame.
He has more recently been focusing his
attention on places which history seems to
have touched and abandoned. Michel has
published three books (Zones, Straight in the
light and God’s left eye) and is represented by
Anyspace gallery.
Michel is photographed with his Linhof
Technica. “I’ve lately been using the Linhof
quite a lot. I like this model because it’s foldable, is very precise and extremely reliable.
I also like working with it because it demands
a lot of reflection.”
michelmazzoni.com
Frederik Heyman
Antwerp-based photographer Frederik
Heyman mostly works in fashion and advertising. His conceptual and futuristic work has
resulted in commissions for everyone from
Vogue Homme Japan and Metal Magazine to
Bruno Pieters and Kenzo.
Frederik is photographed with his Canon Eos
5D, mark II. “The 5D is fast, sharp and easy
to handle in complex surroundings.”
Frederik has a solo show, Pen PALS, at Base Alpha Gallery
in Antwerp starting 17 th May.
frederikheyman.com
84
The reversal
The hunter becomes
the hunted…
We often wonder what the photographers that
hide behind some of our favourite portraits look
like, so we asked one of them to turn the lens on
herself for once and describe the experience.
Jens
Veerle
Lisa
Athos
The photography special
Self-portrait
Géraldine Van Wessem
Ghent-based Géraldine is a 27 year old portrait photographer who
first started taking photographs at the age of 22.
“I found facing the camera quite strange, I thought it would have been
easier. I found it hard to focus, to get a concentrated expression. It is
strange to think about what a picture of me should look like: of how
I should present myself, of what light and what colours I should use.
The picture is rather undefined and I look really reserved, but I guess
that’s also why I feel better behind the camera. At the same time I was
very curious about how the image would look on the ground glass.
I am always very nervous when I take someone’s picture, but somehow
looking at the ground glass is a moving experience.”
geraldinevanwessem.com
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86
The round table
Is the photography book
the new exhibition ?
We met in the art nouveau sanctuary for Belgian photography
L’Espace Contretype to talk about the future of the
photography books and how it might or not become the future
of exhibitions. Jean-Louis Godefroid opened Contretype
in 1978 in his apartment when he was still a student, and
now runs the major contemporary center for photography
in the Hotel Hannon, in Saint Gilles / Sint Gillis. Fabrice
Wagner created his publishing house Le Caillou Bleu 10
years ago, and since then has defended a very concerned and
humanist point of view on photography. Bartolomé Sanson
founded the zine and cassettes publishing house Kaugummi
in 2005 before bringing an end to it in favour of new imprint
Shelter Press in 2011.
A conversation moderated by Felicia Atkinson
Photographer Grégoire Pleynet
The photography special
Felicia Atkinson — Since Martin Parr published the Anthology of the Photobooks, the
importance and value of photo books have
been acknowledged by a wider world. It was
also a way to bring to the crowd the access
to some very rare books that one could not
easily collect. With those two large volumes,
everyone could all of a sudden discover an
ideal library that was previously only open for
specialists.
I would like to ask you to introduce your
self while choosing one book that inspired you
to do what you do and tell us why and how…
Fabrice Wagner — I remember a book
I bought in 1998 called “Photographs” by
Emmet Gowin. It gathers images of his family
with pictures taken from a plane and some
foreign landscapes. This book has been mentioned now by Martin Parr as a very important title, but back then I had no idea of its
value when I purchased it. At this time Le
Caillou Bleu wasn’t existing yet, but it was
the year that my first child was born, and the
premise of the imprint: I would name it “the blue
stone” after watching him painting stones in blue
at his grandfather’s… This question of filiation
is crucial to me. The book by Emmet Gowin was
showing something I was looking for for a long
time, a very unique way of treating everyday
life and the family portrait. I was still living in
Strasbourg, where there were very few photography exhibitions, and this book was like the
first entrance for me to the photography world.
then the photography world didn’t really reach
Belgium. We didn’t have such museums as
Charleroi or FOMU, and the art world wasn’t
so much concerned about photography in galleries… The only access to see photography
was through books. There was a library at
school and our teachers had books too. They
would also show us some slides during classes.
And then, one day, in a second-hand bookstore, I found “Nothing Personal” by Richard
Avedon and James Baldwin. It was a very large
format, with close-ups and portraits. It was the
first book I saw that wasn’t just a monograph.
It was a shock.
Bartolomé Sanson — I created
Kaugummi Books in 2005 in Brittany, when
I was very young. I didn’t know anything about
the photo world, who was famous or who
was not, I could publish in the same book a
photograph of Alec Soth and one by a young
unknown teenager from Norway... The book
that I would choose is pretty recent but gathers
I think all my recents concerns. “Directory”
by Ari Marcopoulos, co-published by Nieves
and Rizzoli. This book is the size of a phone
book,1400 pages of photocopies with a signed
print inside. It is rare, modern, precious and
cheap. It is an incredible sum of work, very
well thought, where the design is completely
serving the concept… It’s a retrospective and a
contemporary object. I think it brings together all of the parameters that a photo book
should endorse.
FA — What is the book that you published that
was the most challenging to you?
Jean-Louis Godefroid — I created
Contretype in 1978 when something needed
to be done in Brussels for photography. Back
FW — I would answer very radically: each
book I published had its own challenge! I need
to be behind each book if I want him to have
a chance, at each step of its process. I realise
this every day! I chose the big distribution
game with a European stockist, but first, when
I began I was bringing the titles to the bookstores myself. I realised very quickly, in the
first hours of my work, the ambiguity of the
job: one bookseller would by 15 copies where
one would just take one to try and see. For me,
one of my main concerns is that the book has
87
to be available for the biggest audience possible without losing its personality, and that’s a
big challenge. Another challenge is each time
I publish an unknown artist, who doesn’t have
any history in the photo world. But the challenge can also be in the run I choose for a book.
For example with the monograph of Elina
Brotherus I am publishing now, we decided to
handle a large print run, which means taking a
risk with costs. Each time the dynamic is different, but remains crucial, in the conscience
of the crisis that stands now, where bookstore returns 40 percent of the books to the
publishers, when they used to send back only
15 percent. You need to be very aware of those
matters nowadays.
J-LG — With Contretype, we first published
three or four books and then we realised that
was another job than curating a space, and we
decided to ask real publishers, such as Fabrice,
to help us. Each book we would decide to copublish would be related to our space: a residency, an exhibition… We can’t afford to do
differently. The challenge stands in terms of
subject and meaning. To exist, a book needs to
be bought, which means being considered in
the short and long term at the same time.
FA — What about the increased speculation
for books online?
FW — The succes of a book is also dependent on the energy of the photographer itself but
also from the hype of the moment of course.
Think Engstrom or Alec Soth, whose books
get sold out in a very short time. They are tastemakers in the photography world now with
blogs like Photoeye or Ahorn, places such as
LE BAL in Paris or Dashwood in New York,
and bookfairs like Offprint or Kassel.
FA — But isn’t there a danger to just do a very
catchy design to win another photoprize and
get sold out asap?
BS — When you take a book like Tokyo
Suburbia by Takashi Homma, a photographer
that I love, it is weird how the book is now so
expensive! It seems that it’s not anymore about
what’s inside the book but just about the value
and speculation, and that’s frightening.
JLG — We should’t forget that the key for a
photo book is not the subject or the design, but
the point of view of the artist! I see a photographer as a poet: I want to defend his special sight
over the world.
shelter-press.com
contretype.org
cailloubleu .com
88
The round up
Photographers…
and everyone around them
Painters can just pick up their paintbrushes and let loose on a
canvas. Photographers, on the other hand, need a whole microsystem of specialists – printers, framers, air brushers – to get to the
final result. In a bid to shine a light on those professions essential
to the photographic process, we profile four artisans without whom
none of this would be possible.
Photographer Veerle Frissen
The reseller
Campion
Michel Campion’s second hand camera shop, nestled in the heart
of Brussels’ Matonge district, has something of a museum feel to it:
The small space is filled with countless cameras, focal lenses and
vintage leather bags of all kinds and shapes. The 69 year old, who took
the business over from his mother in 1973, has built what could be
considered a true shrine to the photography of the past, with a large
and varied selection of analogue models. “Children and grandchildren
come here to sell the cameras they inherited from their parents and
grandparents, mostly trading them in for new digital cameras in our
first hand shop across the street,” Campion explains. Amongst the
plethora of archaic equipment, a gold-plated Swedish Hasselblad
(¤5,000) stands out, as well as the rare cameras dating back to the
19 th century. On the way advances in technology have affected his
business, Campion is unequivocal: “There will always be a niche for it,
just as for vinyls.”
Rue Saint-Boniface 13 Bonifaasstraat – 1050 Brussels
The photography special
The framer
Mertens
When artist Peter Mertens couldn’t find anyone building frames to
his liking, he decided to give it a shot himself. Soon he was making
frames for his friends too and as the demand grew he started his
own framing studio in Amsterdam in 1988. Since then the business
has grown immensely, including the opening of a second studio
in Brussels 12 years ago. Eppo Dehaes, who was taught all about
framing by Mertens himself, has managed the Brussels branch for
quite some time now and keeps up the tradition and high-quality
practice, which is reputed for not using any standard production
items. Having developed its own framing system, Mertens has a
proper wood workshop where every frame is assembled and painted
by hand. “Patience, attention to detail and precision are crucial,” says
Dehaes, who studied painting at St Luc in Brussels. Specialising in
contemporary art and especially photography, Mertens’ roaster of
clients include art galleries Xavier Hufkens and Catherine Bastide as
well as prominent painters such as Luc Tuymans.
Rue Antoine Dansaertstraat 188 – 1000 Brussels
mertensframes.com
89
90
The round up
The printer
Jazz Colorlab
André Jasinski (53) started out as a photographer himself, having
studied photography at Brussels’ St Luc school. After years of
developing his own black and white photographs, he switched to
colour photography, but was never quite satisfied with the prints he
received from the various labs he tried. Finally Jasinski, who also
worked for Brussels’ center for photography Contretype, decided to
learn the craft himself in a laboratory in Canada. When he came back
to Belgium 12 years ago he founded his own print shop and today Jazz
Colorlab is one of the very few places remaining that still employs the
rare method of handmade chemical photo processing from analogue
films. “After the overwhelming success of digital photography I think
I might actually be the only one in Belgium,” he tells us. His clients,
professional artists for the most part, come from as far a place as
Finland, as photographer Elina Brotherus for example.
Rue de Flandre 29 Vlamsesteenweg – 1000 Brussels
The photography special
The printer
Atelier KZG
What Jazz Colorlab does for analogue cameras, Atelier KZG does
for its digital counterparts. Founder Gaëtan Massaut (36) and his
associate David Marlé (37), who studied photography themselves, are
dedicated to continuing the photographic printing tradition whilst
at the same time bringing it in line with the requirements of today’s
digital photographers. Massaut opened the studio in 2004, at the
time of the switch from analogue to digital photography with the
goal of providing a high-quality service for a new need. “Our job is
not just about the process of printing an image,” Marlé, who is also a
teacher at La Cambre, explains. “We have long discussions with the
artists, always trying to find the best possible version of the image and
bringing out its utmost potential by adjusting the vibrance of colours or
strength of contrasts.” Today Atelier KZG is the place to go for some of
Belgium’s most reputed photographers such as Stephan Vanfleteren or
French man Vincent Fournier.
Avenue Van Volxemlaan 405 – 1190 Brussels
kzg.be
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92
The photography showstoppers
Snapper’s delight
There’s something of a duality to our photography
showstopper selection. On one hand, we’re very much in
the nostalgic, with our pick of pendant and wallet, whilst on
the other, we’re clearly aiming to the future with our road
test of the latest camera and digital frame to hit the shelves.
Either way, we’re set for a summer of photography.
Photographer Melika Ngombe
1.
The pendant
Considering that even key chains have digital photo displays nowadays, wearing a necklace with a photo pendant around your neck might
seem a little archaic in certain circles, although definitely not in ours.
And, thankfully, iconic jewellery-maker Tiffany’s still produces the
nostalgic neck piece. With its clean lines and no-fuss aesthetics, this
particular pendent made with real silver isn’t heart-shaped nor does it
have the kitschy engravings, although its oval locket with room for two
photographs sits just about right to hold those you love close to your
heart.
Tiffany’s oval photo locket (¤465) with chain (¤80).
Available from Tiffany’s (Brussels).
tiffany.com
The photography special
93
2.
The wallet
Google launched its digital wallet service and according to a recent study
smartphones will have replaced wallets by 2020. A plain leather wallet
seems almost like a relic of ancient times then, and it is no wonder that we
had to dig quite a bit to find one with the classic feature of a see-through
picture pocket. For decades parents have used their wallets as photoholders for their children’s portraits – probably because it’s the one thing
you never leave the house without. Nowadays though most of us don’t
flip out our wallets anymore when they proudly want to show their new
born baby or favourite pet: These days it’s the smartphone they reach
for. A big no no if you ask us, especially with the kind of wallets French
leather goods maker Longchamp creates. Fact is, in our world, physical
beats digital any day, and we’d much rather show off an actual photograph of our little ones than a pixelated version. What’s more, a study
once revealed that wallets with photos are more likely to be returned to
their owner – with baby pictures being especially efficient.
Longchamp wallet with picture pocket (¤130).
Available from Longchamp (Brussels).
longchamp.com
3.
The camera
With a whopping 16.1 mega-pixel resolution, there’s not much this
camera cannot do. An everyday man’s compact with professional aspirations, the latest addition to Nikon’s Coolpix tribe includes such standout features as its specially crafted wide-angle Nikkor lens, its squarish
design as well as its fluid automatic-manual shift a the flick of a switch.
Testing it out, we were particularly impressed by its lack of camera
shake when set on long-paused shutter speeds although it really is its
high-definition filming capability that got the entire office bubbling.
However, if there was one flaw we had to find with the camera, it’d have
to be its weight: it can at times feel a little light which somehow gives you
the impression it’s not as sturdy and solid as you’d want this type of allterrain equipment to be. That’s only an impression though.
Nikon Coolpix P310 (¤319)
nikon.be
4.
The frame
This nifty little invention is aimed at people who don’t make a habit of
printing their photographs, preferring instead to keep them in digital
format on their hard drives and desktops. The thinking goes like this:
instead of pinning your holiday pictures or family portraits to the
fridge, why not upload them to your memory card which can then be
slotted into this digital frame. Once that’s done, the frame will rotate
up to 1,000 of your favourite photographs in one continuous slideshow. It’s not for everyone, although your elders who are still struggling
to make the switch from analogue to digital might see some benefits in
this one.
Philips digital photo frame (¤99,99)
Available from philips-store.be
94
The portfolio
Grey
Young and upcoming Belgian photographer
Adriaan Hauwaert’s mesmerising grey series works against
the dull and monotonous image associated with the colour
grey. His photographs shimmer in immeasurable shades of
grey to reveal the often hidden dazzling features of a generally
disregarded, underestimated tone, bringing out its undeniable
beauty in the most unexpected of places.
Culture
95
96
Access
+32 (0) 3 231 70 75
American Apparel
Kammenstraat 14
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 227 00 32
americanapparel.net
A.P.C.
Rue Darwinstraat 61
1050 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 346 26 16
apc.fr
Ave
Lombardenstraat 18
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 227 44 01
ave-couture.com
Chanel Brussels
Boulevard de Waterloolaan 63
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 511 20 59
Chanel Antwerp (at SN3)
Frankkrijklei 46-48
+32 (0) 3 231 08 20
2000 Antwerp
chanel.be
Converse (at People)
Rue du Lombardstraat 14-18
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 502 18 01
converse.be
Clio Goldbrenner (at Fresh 34)
Volkstraat 34
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 237 50 23
cliogoldbrenner.com
Delvaux Brussels
Boulevard de Waterloolaan 27
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 513 05 02
Delvaux Antwerp
Komedieplaats 17
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 232 02 47
delvaux.be
Diesel Brussels
Rue A. Dansaertstraat 38
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 503 34 27
Diesel Antwerp
Meir 22
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 213 79 79
diesel.com
The stockists
Faguo (at Fresh)
Leen Boden (at Rosier 41)
Rado (at Claes-Coolens)
Filippa K
Longchamp Brussels
Sandrina Fasoli
Rue Du Midi 57 Zuidstraat
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 511 93 25
faguo-shoes.com
Rue A. Dansaertstraat 42
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 512 81 18
filippa-k.com
Gucci
Boulevard de Waterloolaan 49
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 511 11 82
gucci.com
G-Star (Brussels)
Rue A. Dansaertstraat 48
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 3 232 94 99
G-Star (Antwerp)
Kammenstraat 22
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 232 94 99
g-star.com
Hermès Brussels
Boulevard de Waterloolaan 50
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 511 20 62
Rosier 41
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 225 53 03
leenboden.com
Avenue Louise 5 Louizalaan
1050 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 543 02 60
Longchamp Antwerp
Leopoldstraat 12
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 227 33 00
longchamp.com
Louis Vuitton Brussels
Boulevard de Waterloolaan 59
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 289 28 29
Louis Vuitton Antwerp
Komedieplaats 14-16
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 212 12 12
louisvuitton.com
Hugo Boss
Avenue Louise 43 Louizalaan
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 538 03 63
hugoboss.com
La Costa del Aldogon
(at Biutiful)
Volkstraat 27
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 237 79 64
lacostadelaldogon.com
Lacoste
Galerie Porte de Louise 228
Louizagalerijen
1050 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 512 20 32
lacoste.com
Chaussée de Louvain 650-652
Leuvensesteenweg
1030 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 325 12 30
manoloblahnik.com
Monsieur Bul (at Glory Box)
Rue Léon Lepagestraat 10
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 511 04 88
monsieurbul.be
Rue Neuve 111-123 Nieuwestraat
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 211 21 11
leecooper.com
Tamawa (at Smets)
Chaussée de Louvain 650-652
Leuvensesteenweg
1030 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 325 12 30
tamawa.be
Tiffany & Co.
Boulevard de Waterloolaan 63
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 501 66 33
tiffany.com
Rue Neuve 37 Nieuwestraat
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 219 22 07
tomford.com
Tommy Hilfiger
Avenue de la Toison d’Or 20
Gulden-Vlieslaan
1050 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 513 67 87
tommy.com
Urban Outfitters Antwerp
Nikon
nikon.be
Meir 78 / 201
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 201 59 10
Paula Giezman (at Biutiful)
Urban Outfitters Brussels
Volkstraat 27
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 237 79 64
Place Stephanie 6 Stefanieplein
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 207 14 80
urbanoutfitters.co.uk
Paule Ka Brussels
Boulevard de Waterloolaan 48
1000 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 347 28 85
Paule Ka Antwerp
Komedieplaats 10
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 233 42 92
Pierre Hardy
Lee Cooper (at Inno)
Place Brugmannplein 22
1050 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 343 33 86
sandrinafsoli.com
Tom Ford (at Ici Paris XL)
Manolo Blahnik (at Smets)
Hermès Antwerp
Schuttershofstraat 19
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 227 09 43
Rue Wayezstraat 150
1070 Brussels
+32 (0) 2 522 92 45
rado.com
pierrehardy.com
Victoria Beckham (at RA)
Kloosterstraat 13
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 292 37 80
victoriabeckham.com
Vionnet (at Verso)
Lange Gasthuisstraat 11
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0) 3 226 92 92
vionnet.com
Philips
philips-store.be
Wild Fox
wildfoxcouture.com
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Before we leave you…
So, what’s next on
The Word calendar.
A quick rundown…
Travel in June, music in July then a break in August on thewordmagazine.be
A graphic design exhibition, Smile, in September
Then the pink album
Think Belgian bourgeoisie, home-grown highs,
party people, highbrow haircuts and gym gorillas.
We’re also toying with the idea of hosting a party
towards the end of the year.
Oh, and then there’s the book we’re planning on releasing
together with Sarah Eechaut, an extension of our
“facing the blank canvas” feature.
So, lots on our plate then…
The Word’s Pink album
( + the design special )
© Stépahnie de Smet
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