Biography

Discussion

Gerda van der Veen’s photographic oeuvre conveys a positive take on life. Both in a political sense and as an individual, an extreme commitment to her subject is an absolute requirement for her. Van der Veen’s commentary on human relationships is sometimes explicit, sometimes subtle. Gerda’s father, Gerrit van der Veen, was a promising sculptor. Her mother, Louise van der Veen-van der Chijs, produced photographic portraits of sculptors and other people, with her work shown at an exhibition held at the Amsterdams Historisch Museum (‘Amsterdam Historical Museum’) in 1984.

The artistic environment in which Van der Veen grew up and the work she did with Ed van der Elsken are certain to have influenced her desire to express herself visually. Her initial desire to begin photographing at the age of fifteen was motivated by a sense of personal commitment as well as financial necessity. During her marriage to Ed van der Elsken, Van der Veen never photographed on a serious basis. After her divorce in 1969, however, the actor Bob de Lange approached her—to her own surprise—to photograph on behalf of the theatrical company Podium. Being a single parent in need of additional financial space, she accepted the offer.

The riots in the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood in Amsterdam of the 1970s—a protest against the building of an underground transit system in this part of the city—inspired Gerda to venture out onto the street to photograph the immediate surroundings where she lived. It was at the ‘Aktiegroep Nieuwmarkt’ (‘Protest Group Nieuwmarkt’) that she first met Dolf Touissant, who encouraged Van der Veen to develop herself further as a photographer and who gave her the idea to photograph the Amsterdam Central Station. He also advised her in this undertaking, which, in 1976, resulted in a documentary assignment from the AFK (Stichting Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, ‘Amsterdam Fund for the Arts’), with ‘street activities’ as the subject matter.

The financial impulse that came with this assignment enabled Van der Veen to evolve into a full-fledged photographer in the ensuing years.

In her striving for a more humane and tolerant society, Van der Veen often played an active role herself: she stood at the barricades during the Nieuwmarkt protests, not just as a concerned resident of the neighbourhood, but also as a photographer. She was practically always the only woman photographing the riots. Photographers such as Koen Wessing, Vincent Mentzel, Dolf Toussaint, Hannes Wallrafen, and Pieter Boersma could also be found at the same spot. Their photos, however, are generally bleaker than those of Van der Veen, who was drawn to more light-hearted forms of protest.

On occasion, Van der Veen also made her photos accessible to attorneys involved in legal suits filed against demonstrators by the government.

While photographing riots in 1984, Van der Veen experienced a bad scare: she found herself standing in a cloud of ill-concocted teargas, which the government implemented in the form of an experiment. As a result, she decided to stop with protest photography all together. In actuality, she no longer wished to be identified with the increasing number of violent incidents incited by hooligans.

In 1974, Gerda began photographing events on the Waterlooplein in Amsterdam, which led to an intensive reportage. This project, as well as long-running social documentary reportages produced by others, had been receiving too little attention in her opinion. When a photographers’ collective came up with the idea of Plaatwerk (‘Plate Work’, a magazine for social reportages) in about 1983, Van der Veen was immediately interested and helped with setting up this periodical.

Van der Veen’s interest in street (theatre) and protest photography, which manifested itself at an early stage, remained a key aspect of her entire photographic oeuvre. She was among those who demonstrated in favour of the preservation of the Zomerstraattheater (‘Summer Street Theatre’), an organisation promoting open street performances and providing facilities for a large number of theatrical groups. Van der Veen published a small photobook on her own initiative, featuring the photos she took during a demonstration held in Amsterdam organised by the Zomerstraattheater.

For years, Van der Veen photographed the annual Festival of Fools, an international forum for street theatre groups held in Amsterdam during the 1970s and ’80s.

For many years, experimental and exploratory theatrical groups, e.g. Waste of Time, Kip, Tender, Dogtroep, and the Gebroeders Flint, not only made up a great part of Van der Veen’s photography but also much of her private life. Most of her street photos are in fact action photos: vivacity, chaos, and jest are always clearly present. The street as a public domain is an important element for Van der Veen. Street theatre beats the daily grind, thus having a liberating effect. Van der Veen photographs the reflection of this. In her photographs of Amsterdam, the absurdity of everyday life comes to the forefront.

In 1977, the documentary assignment on the topic of ‘Street Activities’, for which Van der Veen had been commissioned by the AFK in 1976, was given a follow-up. In both assignments, she also photographed street theatre, including the Festival of Fools productions. For the same 1977 documentary assignment, she also shot a series of photos centred on the Amsterdam Central Station. With this series, however, Van der Veen is clearly less personally involved. While her interest in people is still evident in this series, the photos are less resplendent, less lively, when compared to her other work.

In 1982, Van der Veen did a reportage on life at Ruigoord (municipality Haarlemmerliede) for the AFK, a project in which her personal involvement can once again be observed. Van der Veen had been frequenting this alternative living community already for years, which had formed on a site designated for industrial and shipping activity. The lifestyle of Ruigoord’s inhabitants appealed to her. Because the way of life there was dependent upon the different seasons, Van der Veen worked on this reportage for approximately one year. She made not only a written introduction, but also a map. As a result, her assignment served as a complete documentation of a fairly closed community. The natural environment even motivated Van der Veen to take landscape photos. Her reportage charmingly depicts subjects such as reed cutting, nudism, the renovation of a home with recycled wood, and children playing in the grass.

For a brief time, Van der Veen also worked with the medium of film. In 1979 and 1981, she took film stills and working photos for two of Johan van der Keuken’s films, De meester en de reus (‘The Master and the Giant’, 1980) and De beeldenstorm (‘The Iconoclasm’, 1982). Like Van der Keuken, Van der Veen was interested in the differences between photography and film. In 1974, Van der Keuken made a film entitled Vakantie van de filmer (‘The Filmmaker’s Holiday’), which addressed this topic.

In the period 1983-’85, Van der Veen made a short film of her own with a subsidy from the Ministry of WVC (Welzijn, Volksgezondheid en Cultuur, ‘Welfare, Public Health, and Culture’), entitled Vernissage. Een sprakeloze ontmoeting (‘Opening Reception. A Speechless Meeting’). A sequel was also planned, but Van der Veen was unable to find the right form to further elaborate on the series.

For the project Wonderlijke Zwervers (‘Amazing Drifters’), made in collaboration with Jan de Noord and Jan Wolff in 1978, Van der Veen was inspired to work in colour, with puppets in the leading role. Van der Veen shot both slides and colour photos of the landscape of Groningen. In 1986, she produced a behind-the-scenes photographic series at the Nederlandse Opera (‘Dutch National Opera’), as well partially in colour. Various annual Festivals of Fools, demonstrations in Amsterdam, as well as performances in the Vondelpark were also photographed on colour slides.

Content-wise, Van der Veen’s photos are characterised by their sociocritical undertone. In doing so, she belonged to the group of socially engaged photographers active during the 1970s and ’80s. This aspect of social engagement is evident in Van der Veen’s protest photos, which are sometimes whimsical, sometimes bleak. A photo of policemen on horses moving in on a protestor conveys an explicit critique. The image resembles a hunter cornering his prey. The advertising posters in the background and the people on the balcony who witness the event with shock give the photo an added dimension.

Photos of people in their own neighbourhood, however, also provide a subtle commentary on the reality—often in the form of mild jest. For Van der Veen, the message a photo’s content conveys is extremely important. In addition, her photos are taken in a highly conceived fashion. Tonal range and framing are used in a way to accentuate and enliven her subjects. With street theatre, a number of factors are important. The action—which almost always appears chaotic—the background, and the public all have to find their place within the photo. The strength of Van der Veen’s photography is that it captures the essence, obtained through the photographer’s ability to isolate the subject precisely at the right moment. With visual theatre performed by groups such as Dogtroep, Van der Veen allows the surroundings to play a role. She also responds to the unpredictable dynamic in the acting.

Van der Veen frequently designs posters and brochures as publicity material for theatrical and music groups, using her own photos. She also makes photo collages, which are sometimes implemented as inserts for annual reports, bulletins, and brochures.

At the start of her career, Van der Veen relied on a small Leica camera. At a later point, she also began working with a Nikon. Depending on the design, Van der Veen uses a 35, 40, or 55 mm (standard) lens or a 80-200 mm zoom lens. She makes no attempt to use the entire negative and never works with a tripod, not even in her theatrical photography. Van der Veen is a child of the times when it comes to content. The same applies to her printing technique. Van der Veen’s prints were initially characterised by their coarse grain and dark tones; in her later work, however, she prefers greater nuances as well as light/dark effects.

Gerda van der Veen photographed the street and music theatre circuit, as well as the cultural agitation of the 1970s and ’80s, in a consistent manner. The merit of her positive outlook, especially when it came to the city of Amsterdam, is that her photography presented a different picture—one less bleak than that of other social photographers from this period. As a result, Van der Veen’s oeuvre is a valuable addition to the sociohistorical documentation of a lively period in and around Amsterdam.

Documentation