Time Out at 40

Mariska Majoor | Henk Schiffmacher | Rineke Dijkstra

Rineke Dijkstra

Rineke Dijkstra
Rineke Dijkstra, born in Sittard, the Netherlands, has lived and worked in Amsterdam since her art school days at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in the 1980s. She’s now one of the world’s most compelling contemporary photographers and her haunting, unforgettable images of ordinary people in moments of transition – adolescents on a beach, children of Bosnian refugees, bullfighters just bloodied in the arena, Israeli soldiers returning from tours of duty – have been exhibited in Athens, Avignon, Berlin, Chicago, Düsseldorf, Eindhoven, Leipzig, Madrid, Miami. The list goes on from there. In 2007, she was the thirty-fifth top-selling photographer at auction in the world, placing ahead of Matthew Barney and Helmut Newton. Of course, market value isn’t everything. She’s also our hero because she’s completely modest and entirely focused on people less fortunate than herself.

You’ve been selected as a local hero by Time Out Amsterdam. How do you feel about that?
I am very honoured. I don’t see myself as a hero.
Feature continues

You’re an internationally recognised artist now, but how do you feel about Amsterdam?
I always see Amsterdam as my hometown, the place where I feel most at home. For the last ten years I’ve been travelling a lot. I lived in Berlin for a while, and I’ve thought more or less seriously about moving to New York, but I realised that what I prefer to do is to work on a specific project, which can be anywhere, and then come home. I like the scale of Amsterdam, and I have all my friends here. Sometimes it’s a bit too comfortable and I think it would be good to have some more… I don’t know, challenges? Everything is really safe here. Sometimes when you travel you realise that you’re so privileged to live in a country like this, a city like this, because everything is so well arranged here, so taken care of. You have a good system which provides artists with so much support; even if you’re just a starting artist – if you’re good, of course – you get government support.

Is the art world or art scene in Amsterdam important to your work?
You know, I’ve always thought of myself as a photographer, not an artist, so I don’t think of myself as part of the art scene so much. Even in art school, the photography department was sort of an island, and I didn’t think of myself as an artist then either. I always felt more related to other photographers. As a photographer, you go out and you’re observing the world. You’re an observer and an adventurer. Most artists stay in their studios and it’s a different approach. For me it’s like I create a studio on location; I work in my own context.

What’s your personal favourite moment in Amsterdam? Where were you, and what was happening?
Every period is so different! It depends on your age as well. I liked the ’90s, when I was in my early thirties. There was a great energy and a lot of cultural, social and art events, like the RoXY and W139 gallery.

What’s the future for the art world in Amsterdam? What are your hopes, and what needs to happen?
It’s hard to say because art is so changeable. I think it’s always great when things happen in art that reflect the time we live in. I can’t wait until our museums, like the Stedelijk Museum and the Rijksmuseum – which have both been under renovation for many years – open their doors again.
Interviewed by Nina Siegal

Mariska Majoor | Henk Schiffmacher | Rineke Dijkstra