Erik Kessels

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Erik Kessels (1966) is a Dutch artist, designer and curator with a particular interest in photography, and co-founder of KesselsKramer, an advertising agency in Amsterdam. [1] [2] Kessels and Johan Kramer established the "legendary and unorthodox" [1] KesselsKramer in 1996, and KesselsKramer Publishing, their Amsterdam-based publishing house. [3]

Contents

He is "best known as a book publisher specialising in absurdist found photography", [4] extensively publishing his and others' found and vernacular photography. [5] Notable works include the long-running series Useful Photography, which he edits with others, and his own In Almost Every Picture. [3] [6] [7] [8] [9] Sean O'Hagan, writing in The Guardian, said "His magazine, Useful Photography, forgoes art and documentary for images that are purely functional. ... Humour is the unifying undercurrent here as it is in KesselsKramer's series of photo books, In Almost Every Picture". [3]

Kessels in 2016 MJK04146 Erik Kessels.jpg
Kessels in 2016
Kessels at Typo Berlin 2017 Eric-kessels DSC07667.jpg
Kessels at Typo Berlin 2017

Life and work

Kessels was born in Roermond, Netherlands and grew up in the adjacent village Swalmen. [10]

He collects photographs he finds on flea markets, fairs, in junk shops, and online, and appropriates and re-contextualises them. [3] He extensively publishes his and others' found and vernacular photography through KesselsKramer Publishing. [5] Notable works include the long-running series Useful Photography, which he edits with others, and his own In Almost Every Picture. [6] [7] [8] Among the works he published through other publishers are Een Idee aub (2012) [11] about creativity on command, Failed it (2016) [12] about turning mistakes into brilliant ideas and The Many Lives of Erik Kessels (2017), [13] an overview of his work so far. Sean O'Hagan, writing in The Guardian, said "Kessels made his name as a champion of found photography, seeking out discarded family albums in order to show us anew their mundane beauty and oddness. He is best known for his magazine Useful Photography, which celebrates images of the purely functional, and his series of books In Almost Every Picture, which home in on motifs that appear accidentally in amateur photo albums – such as wayward fingers. ... More recently, Kessels has become “more and more interested in the stories of the photographs" rather than the images themselves." [9] His most successful publication is In Almost Every Picture 7. [3] Parr and Badger include In Almost Every Picture 4 (2006) in the third volume of their photobook history. [14] In it they say "Erik Kessels is one of the guiding lights behind the magazine Useful Photography, edited by a group of (mainly) Dutch photographers in a witty yet serious manner. In his ongoing series In Almost Every Picture, he continues his exploration of the found snapshot as a solo author. The idea in this series is to gather together a group of snapshots devoted to a theme and treat them as if the photographers were vernacular "conceptual" artists – which in a sense they are."

In 2015 Kessels was shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, for Unfinished Father, along with Trevor Paglen, Laura El-Tantawy, and Tobias Zielony. [4] [15] [16] [17]

Kessels' exhibition Destroy My Face, as part of the BredaPhoto 2020 festival in the Netherlands, was met with widespread criticism on social media of misogyny, and was eventually removed by the venue, Pier15 Skatepark. The work, which Kessels describes as an "interactive work", [18] consists of composite portraits created by an algorithm based on images on the internet of people who have undergone plastic and cosmetic surgery. The photos of women's faces were printed as sticker folie and affixed to the floor surface of the skatepark, where visitors could contribute to the destruction of the faces through the activity of skating over the prints. [19] [20]

After the festival opened on 9 September 2020, an open letter to the festival and the skatepark, signed by artists, designers, photographers, and other creatives under the name We Are Not A Playground, described the work and its implementation as misogynistic. [21] Within only a few days, as of 14 September 2020, the letter had collected more than 2000 signatures. [22] [23]

KesselsKramer and KesselsKramer Publishing

KesselsKramer is an independent, advertising agency established by Kessels and Johan Kramer in 1996. It is based in Amsterdam with offices in London and Los Angeles, and a staff of about fifty. [24] [25]

KesselsKramer has been called "legendary and unorthodox". [1] Its notable advertising campaigns have been "The Worst Hotel In The World" for Hans Brinker Budget Hotel in Amsterdam, [3] [26] [27] and "I Amsterdam" for the city of Amsterdam. [5]

KesselsKramer Publishing is an Amsterdam-based publishing house. [3] It produces books on photography, art, and some fiction. KesselsKramer only publishes works created in house by its own staff. [25]

Publications

Publications and zines by Kessels and with others

Useful Photography

  • Useful Photography 1. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Hans Aarsman, Claudie de Cleen, Julian Germain, Kessels, and Hans van der Meer. ISBN   978-90-72007-70-4.
  • Useful Photography 2. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Aarsman, de Cleen, Germain, Kessels, and van der Meer. ISBN   978-90-75380-46-0.
  • Useful Photography 3. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Aarsman, de Cleen, Germain, Kessels, and van der Meer. ISBN   978-90-75380-62-0.
  • Useful Photography 4. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Photographs by Ad van Denderen. Edited by Hans Aarsman, Claudie de Cleen, Julian Germain, Kessels, and van der Meer. ISBN   978-90-75380-96-5.
  • Useful Photography 5. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Aarsman, de Cleen, Germain, Kessels, and van der Meer. ISBN   978-90-70478-06-3.
  • Useful Photography 6. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Aarsman, de Cleen, Germain, Kessels, and van der Meer. ISBN   978-90-70478-12-4.
  • Useful Photography 7. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Aarsman, de Cleen, Germain, Kessels, and van der Meer. ISBN   978-90-70478-16-2.
  • Useful Photography 8. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Aarsman, de Cleen, Germain, Kessels, van der Meer, and Adriaan van der Ploeg. ISBN   978-90-70478-22-3.
  • Useful Photography 9. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Aarsman, de Cleen, Germain, Kessels, and van der Meer. ISBN   978-90-70478-25-4.
  • Useful Photography 10. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Aarsman, de Cleen, Germain, Kessels, and van der Meer. ISBN   978-90-70478-34-6.
  • Useful Photography 11. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Aarsman, de Cleen, Germain, Kessels, van der Meer, and Frank Schallmaier. ISBN   978-90-70478-38-4.
  • Useful Photography 12. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Aarsman, Germain, Kessels, and van der Meer. ISBN   978-90-70478-40-7.
  • Useful Photography 13. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and Edited by Aarsman, Germain, Kessels, and Schallmeier. ISBN   978-90-70478-43-8.
    • Useful Photography 13. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Boxed edition with remote control, batteries and ruler. ISBN   978-90-70478-43-8. Edition of 25 copies.
  • Useful Photography War Special. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Aarsman, de Cleen, Germain, Kessels, and van der Meer. ISBN   978-90-75380-84-2.
  • Useful Photography: #001-005. Collected and edited by Aarsman, de Cleen, Germain, Kessels, and van der Meer. Issues 1–5 in a slipcase. Edition of 100 copies.

In Almost Every Picture

  • In Almost Every Picture 1. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2002. Collected and edited by Kessels. ISBN   978-90-75380-41-5. Text by Tyler Whisnand.
  • In Almost Every Picture 2. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2003. Collected and edited by Kessels and Andrea Stultiens. ISBN   978-90-75380-73-6. Text by Whisnand.
  • In Almost Every Picture 3. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2005. Collected and edited by Kessels. ISBN   978-90-8546-018-3. Text by Whisnand.
  • In Almost Every Picture 4. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2006. Collected and edited by Kessels. ISBN   978-90-70478-07-0. Text by Whisnand.
  • In Almost Every Picture 5. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer. Collected and edited by Kessels and Marion Blomeyer. ISBN   978-90-70478-13-1. Text by Whisnand.
  • In Almost Every Picture 6. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2007. Collected and edited by Kessels. ISBN   978-90-70478-15-5. Text by Christian Bunyan.
  • In Almost Every Picture 1–5. Collected and edited by Kessels, 2008. Five books in a slipcase. In Almost Every Picture 5 comes with a DVD containing a film of Josefina Aparicio Iglesias, the woman who is the subject of the book. [28]
  • In Almost Every Picture 7. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2008. Collected and edited by Kessels and Joep Eijkens. ISBN   978-90-70478-23-0. Photographs by Ria van Dijk. Text by Joep Eijkens.
  • In Almost Every Picture 8. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2009. Collected and edited by Kessels. Photographs by Hironori Akutagawa. ISBN   978-90-70478-28-5. Text by Christian Bunyan.
  • In Almost Every Picture 9. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2010. Collected and edited by Kessels. Text by Christian Bunyan. ISBN   978-90-70478-31-5.
  • In Almost Every Picture 10. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2011. Collected by Michel Campeau. Edited and designed by Kessels. Photographs by Jean-Paul Cuerrier. ISBN   978-90-70478-35-3.
  • In Almost Every Picture 6–10. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2011. Collected and edited by Kessels. Five books in a slipcase. In Almost Every Picture 6 includes a DVD containing a music piece composed by Scanner, and images from the book. Edition of 100 copies. [29]
  • In Almost Every Picture 11. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2012. Discovered by Gijs van den Berg. Edited and designed by Kessels. Photographs by Fred Clark. ISBN   978-90-70478-36-0.
  • In Almost Every Picture 12. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2013. Edited and designed by Kessels. ISBN   978-90-70478-37-7.
  • In Almost Every Picture 13. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2014. Edited and designed by Kessels. ISBN   978-90-70478-39-1
  • In Almost Every Picture 14. Amsterdam: KesselsKramer, 2015. Discovered by Toon Michiels. Edited and designed by Kessels. ISBN   978-90-70478-41-4.

Publications with contributions by Kessels

Film by Kessels

Exhibitions (selected)

Collections

Kessels' work is held in the following public collection:

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Clark, Tim (4 September 2013). "The Vanishing Art of the Family Photo Album". Time . Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Erik Kessels in Conversation with David Morgan". The Photographers' Gallery. Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 O'Hagan, Sean (30 March 2014). "The world's weirdest photo albums". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 O'Hagan, Sean (5 November 2015). "Deutsche Börse photography prize shortlist: drones v the women of Tahrir". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Robin Jones, Charlie (25 August 2009). "In Almost Every Picture". Dazed . Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  6. 1 2 Frank, Priscilla (16 September 2014). "Photo Series Honors The Age Old Photographic Tradition Of Giant Fingers Getting In The Way". HuffPost . Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Erik Kessels Found Photography Book Chronicles Adventures Of Wedding Photographer Larbi Laaraichi (Photos)". HuffPost . 2 February 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  8. 1 2 Sekoff, Hallie (22 October 2012). "Erik Kessels' 'In Almost Every Picture' Series Features Fred Clark's Underwater Wife Photos". HuffPost . Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 O'Hagan, Sean (15 April 2016). "Erik Kessels: 'All the great photographs have already been taken'". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Explore Erik Kessels". rkd.nl.
  11. ↑ Kessels, Erik (2012). Een idee aub : over creativiteit op commando. Amsterdam [etc.]: Business Contact. ISBN   9789047005919. OCLC   812637473.
  12. ↑ Kessels, Erik (16 May 2016). Failed it! : how to turn mistakes into ideas and other advice for successfully screwing up. London. ISBN   9780714871196. OCLC   949323474.
  13. ↑ Kessels, Erik; Zanot, Francesco; Baker, Simon; Aarsman, Hans; Phillips, Sandra S. (2017). The many lives of Erik Kessels (First ed.). New York, N.Y. ISBN   978-1597114165. OCLC   959037937.
  14. ↑ Parr, Martin; Badger, Gerry (2014). The Photobook: A History, Volume III. London: Phaidon. p. 253. ISBN   978-0-7148-6677-2.
  15. ↑ "Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2016". deutscheboersephotographyfoundation.org.
  16. ↑ "Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2016: shortlist announced – Creative Review". 5 November 2015. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  17. ↑ Ryan, Beth (5 November 2015). "Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2016 shortlist announced". The Daily Telegraph . London. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  18. ↑ "Erik Kessels on Instagram: "'Destroy my face' interactive work. Status after one day skating! @pier15skatepark @breda_photo @erik.kessels #skateboard #skatepark…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  19. ↑ "Erik Kessels protests plastic surgery with a skatepark papered in pouts". Creative Review. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  20. ↑ "A Male Artist's Invitation to Destroy Women's Faces Is Unapologetic Misogyny". ELEPHANT. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  21. ↑ "WE ARE NOT A PLAYGROUND: An Open Letter to the Organisation and Board of BredaPhoto and Skatepark Pier15". Google Docs. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  22. ↑ "An open letter calls out art encouraging skaters to destroy images of women". Dazed. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  23. ↑ "Skatebaan verwijdert foto's Erik Kessels na online kritiek". NRC Handelsblad . 15 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  24. ↑ "KK : About". kesselskramer.com.
  25. 1 2 "KK : Contact". kesselskramer.com.
  26. ↑ "The Great Ads Of "The Worst Hotel In The World"". BuzzFeed .
  27. ↑ "The worst book in the world? – Creative Review". 26 March 2009. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  28. ↑ wearejust.com. "In Almost Every Picture – Edition 1–5". kesselskramerpublishing.
  29. ↑ "IN ALMOST EVERY PICTURE – EDITION 6–10". kesselskramerpublishing.
  30. ↑ "Baltic Plus – Loud & Clear: Ryuichi Sakamoto; Marlene Dumas; Erik Kessels/KesselsKramer". balticplus.uk.
  31. ↑ "24 hour photo art goes on display". BBC News. 16 November 2011.
  32. ↑ Kelly, Tara (14 November 2011). "Erik Kessels, Photographer, Prints Out 24 Hours Worth Of Flickr Photos (Photos)". HuffPost . Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  33. ↑ "Five Strange Family Albums: Alessandra Sanguinetti/ Emmet Gowin/ Erik Kessels/ Ralph Eugene Meatyard/ Sadie Benning". Le Bal. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  34. ↑ "Le Bal – Vogue.it".
  35. ↑ "Closed Exhibition – Sky Arts Ignition: Memory Palace". Victoria and Albert Museum. 22 October 2013.
  36. ↑ Wainwright, Oliver (18 June 2013). "Hari Kunzru's Memory Palace creates a 'walk-in' graphic novel at the V&A". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  37. ↑ Hudson, Mark (18 June 2013). "Memory Palace, Victoria & Albert Museum, review". The Daily Telegraph.
  38. ↑ "Installation image of Sky Arts Ignition: Memory Palace at the V&A – Memory Palace – Memory, The Wasp Factory, New Generation Thinker Rebecca Steinfeld, Night Waves – BBC Radio 3". BBC.
  39. ↑ "'Memory Palace' Exhibition Renders Dystopian World With Trash Towers, Walk-In Book (Photos)". HuffPost . 20 June 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  40. ↑ "(Mis)Understanding Photography: Works and Manifestos: June 14 – August 17, 2014". Museum Folkwang . Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  41. ↑ "Erik Kessels, Unfinished Father". Reggio Emilia . Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  42. ↑ "Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2016". The Photographers' Gallery. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  43. ↑ "'Destroy My Face'- Erik Kessels". BredaPhoto. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  44. ↑ "Kunstwerk met vrouwengezichten van skatebaan verwijderd na scherpe petitie". 15 September 2020.
  45. ↑ "Collectie: Erik Kessels". Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam . Retrieved 27 April 2016.
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