Exhibition photographer Herman van Doorn:
“In 2016 I started the “Venezia Quotidiana” project, documenting daily life on the streets of Venice. Gradually the desire arose to get behind the doors to get to know Venice and in the following years the “Venezia Artigiana” project developed. This project led to research and documentation of ‘remnants’ of craft activity in Venice.
There is an apparent contradiction in many Venetians’ view of mass tourism. Originally, the crafts were necessary for the inhabitants themselves, for shipbuilding, house building and, as with glass, to a large extent for export. As fewer inhabitants remained, there was less need for craft work for maintenance, for example. Which led to a need to sell the craft products to tourists. Which in turn means that these products will be copied and produced en masse by companies. Of course in a qualitatively inferior form. But that does not interest most tourists. Hence the conflict, on the one hand, the city needs the economic benefits of tourism and it provides a certain amount of prosperity, while the abundance of tourists only damages the city. The struggle against this abundance waged by Venetian citizens can serve as an example of the efforts of Venetian craftsmen to survive.
We can see that in the fight against the monstrous cruise ships that until recently could sail right through the city. Many attempts are made to draw attention to the ancient lace, the traditional glass blowing, the traditional mask makers and the fishing industry through festivities. All professions practiced by craftsmen. The most famous examples are the glass industry on Murano, and the different methods of lace-making, with needle and thread or bobbins, on Burano and Pellestrina respectively.
The construction of gondolas and everything related to it. The work in the yards, the blacksmith, the foundry, the cloth weaver, the joiner, the woodcarver, the gilder, the upholsterer. Wearing masks was commonplace in Venice from the Middle Ages. That is why this craft also occupies an important place in history and continues to exist, even though the hand-making of masks is only practiced by a dozen men and women. Most of the masks that one encounters while walking through the city are mass-produced in Eastern European and Asian countries and of worthless material.
For me and fortunately for anyone who attends this festival and has a warm heart for crafts, crafts can certainly be viable. After decades of neglect, in recent years we have seen a revival of appreciation for genuine handicrafts.
My project aims to make a portrait series of the Venetian artisans that makes it clear that they are an indispensable part of Venetian culture. Through this way of photographing I want to show that they form a unique unity with the space where their work takes place. A portrait in three layers, of the space, the craftsman or -woman and these in combination with the space.”
Exhibition at gallery NDSM Fuse in the NDSM Loods.
Discover the kaha di òrgel during Marfensel Osepa’s presentation. Learn about the history, playing techniques and styles of this fascinating instrument that has had an important role in the musical culture of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
Kaha di òrgel is a musical instrument midway between a cylinder piano and an organ. It consists of a wooden (sound) case containing a rotating cylinder with musical pieces on it and a crank, which is used to set the cylinder in motion.
Kaha di òrgel is credited in the KIEN’s Inventory of Intangible Heritage of the Netherlands.
In collaboration with SPLIKA foundation. SPLIKA has as its mission to embrace the culture of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, protect their identity and strengthen the connection with their essence. SPLIKA foundation celebrates the authenticity of its people, its language and its traditions.
In collaboration with Stichting Vormgeving in Hout, a number of Dutch woodworkers will present their work during the festival.
Otto Koedijk is a wood turner and makes tangible puzzles, among other things. The name says it all: these are puzzles made by Otto in such a way that each piece can be recognized by touch due to its shape and texture. So you can do this puzzle with your eyes closed!
Jac Wijnhoven is a sculptor in wood. His passion for wood started at an early age, because his father was a carpenter. He prefers to use raw and unsawn wood from Dutch gardens and forests. His free work is always polished and often geometric in shape, where he has a preference for button shapes.
Jelmer van der Sluis is a furniture maker and designer. Together with his colleague, he manages the Kopshout furniture company and makes solid wooden furniture to order. Come and admire some of his works and see how Jelmer works! In addition to a number of pieces of furniture, Jelmer also takes his workbench with him, so that he can demonstrate how to make solid wooden furniture.
Stefan During is fascinated by chairs. He has been designing them for about 40 years. He uses the prototype of each chair to show to his audience. The chair can then be ordered, in native woods, and custom made. He does the making himself, in his workshop on Texel.
Rutger Graas presents the manufacturing lab. Get acquainted with the craft of today and be amazed by the possibilities and impossibilities of contemporary techniques. Based on a number of tangible examples, Rutger would like to talk to you about how a robot cutter has expanded his creative world.
Musical instrument-making demonstrations
On Saturday
Demonstration of making a block and tuning a recorder by Jan Bouterse. Information about building a bowed instrument, with demonstrations of making a clog violin by Onno Lotgering and a violin by Harry van Zutphen. Demonstration of building a barrel organ by Wim Draaijer and building an organetto (accordion with organ pipes, after a model by Leonardo da Vinci) by Reijnier Kloeg.
On Sunday
Demonstration about voicing a harpsichord: cutting goose feather keels (picks) and adjusting them to size. This provides insight into the mechanics of a harpsichord by Rik van Pelt. Information about building a bowed instrument, with demonstrations of building a violin by Harry van Zutphen and in the afternoon of a clog violin by Onno Lotgering. Demonstration of building different guitars by Maarten Borstrok.
There is documentation material for, among other things, organ building, viol building, gamba building and various other instruments.
Bouwerskontakt is part of Huismuziek, an association for music and instrument making and aims to exchange, make available, expand and spread knowledge and experience about building musical instruments. Bouwerskontakt currently has 350 members: a large number of hobbyists but also semi-professional and professional builders. Individually or in a course, they build historical and modern instruments such as guitars, violins, harpsichords, organs, barrel organs, flutes and recorders.
Traces of the Future is a documentary portrait of Dutch photographer Herman van Doorn, who has been photographing for over 40 years. Herman specialized in architectural photography but in recent years has increasingly focused on his own work in which he expresses his ideals. He also does this in Venice, where he documents old crafts and traditional workshops that are disappearing.
Reasons for the disappearance of the workshops are mass tourism and the cheap ‘replicas’ of traditional Venetian products. Through his photographs, Herman makes us wonder what we, as a society and individually, are doing. The documentary is partly set in Venice and partly in Utrecht.
Traces of the Future was made by documentary maker Suzanne van Leendert (U & Eye Media Productions).
During the festival, there is an exhibition by Herman van Doorn with his photos of artisans in Venice. Several artisans portrayed will give master classes during the festival, including mask maker Marilisa del Cason and glass blower Chiara Lee Taiarol.
Both days, Suzanne and Herman will be present for an introduction and Q&A, at 12pm and 4pm.
Visitors to the Ambacht in Beeld Festival will be the first to hear and see scenes from the Eef van Breen Group‘s latest performance, ‘VUURPROEF’.
In the enchanting sound theatre VUURPROEF, composer, director and heaven-stormer Eef van Breen opens up a new world for ear, eye and heart. A live glassblower, ceramicist, woodworker, blacksmith, four musicians and an actress create a rich world of music, language, sound, and objects to get lost in.
In a crazy world, a girl with burnout lies in bed. During a fever dream, she meets a guide who takes her on a hallucinatory journey across a raging sea through the fiery centre of the earth, past icebergs and dark forests. The girl discovers the transformative power of the four elements earth, fire, water and air and invents a new myth that inspires and makes her better.
Credits
Eef van Breen: concept/composition/trumpet/vocal/research
Anne Vegter: text
Inez de Bruijn: actress/research
Eva Tebbe: harp/research
Stathis Elio: double bass
Marije van den Berg: flute
Channa Larissa: ceramics
Annelied van Dijk: blacksmith
Michelle Veldman: glassblower
Albert van Iperen: woodwork and scenery
Judith Schoneveld: dramaturgy
Christiaan Uytdehaage: business management
Gemma Hauptmeijer: production
Karl Klomp: image
Peter Zwart: sound design
Vera Galesev: foley design
Festival address:
NDSM Loods
NDSM-Plein 85
1033 WC Amsterdam
Postal address:
Stichting Ambacht in Beeld
Kalf 158
1509AH Zaandam
The Netherlands
