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Published: April 5th 2009
Did you know...
art is just another language according to certain theories? It allows a certain group of people to find each other and ommunicate the value of thier communication.
Today me and Henri decided to go to Den Haag. The reason - to see the works of Erwin Olaf
Erwin Olaf (Erwin Olaf Springveld) was born in 1959 in Hilversum, Netherlands. He is a photographer.
Olaf is most famous for his commercial and personal work. He has been commissioned to photograph advertising campaigns for large international companies such as Levi's, Microsoft and Nokia.Some of his most famous photographic series include "Grief", "Rain", and "Royal Blood". We got to see Rain, Grief, Hope and Fall. Olaf is never one to shy away from controversy, Olaf's work is often daring and provocative. Humorously however, one of his early photographs was once expelled from a show on the basis of NOT containing nudity.
His exhibition that we saw was really good as we walked through - I noticed how you look at the photos and you wonder - gee I wander what the rest of the story is.
After this we went to the historical museum nearby. That was quite
nice and had some old and modern art there. By the time we finished it was about 2pm and we were really hungry.
I asked Henri if we could check out some Indonesian restaurants. He agreed. So we found a nice one in the city centre and had a yummy well deserved lunch. After this we headed into the city and walked around by the royal palace. Before this we actually walked around on the ice near the museum. That was good fun and there were heaps of cute little kids practising to skate.
Natural ice in the Netherlands is a rare occurrence. In fact, some winters there's no natural ice at all. Maybe that explains why the Dutch love to skate outdoors. They hardly ever get the chance! But when a cold wave hits, and the interconnected maze of canals, rivers and lakes freeze over, it's a spontaneous celebration, a national holiday. Businesses close their doors and everyone goes skating.
According to Richard van Ammerzoden, a skater from Rotterdam, skating in Holland originated as a poor man's sport. Isolated by mud and water in the damp winters, rural farmers prayed for ice. When it came, just
like Hans Brinker, they strapped on their wooden skates with leather thongs, and traveled great distances to visit friends and relatives they hadn't seen in months. Then they skated home.
Perhaps that explains the origin of the Elfstedentocht or "Eleven Cities Tour", a 200-kilometer mega-tour in the province of Friesland known as "the mother of all skating tours." In the 1890s, some Frisian farmer with well-developed leg muscles tried to skate through all eleven cities of Friesland in a single day. He succeeded, and the rest is history.
Actually but skating is serious business here in the Netherlands. In fact if you sort of get bragging rights if you are the first on the ice for the season. But its not the safest sport. In fact every year someone dies falling through the ice into the freezing water, usually skating on ice that they think is thick enough. This year someone died in Friesland (in Holland's north).
Well anyways that aside it was a really nice day and like I said we watched the day end by the royal palace with ice skaters hitting the ice. Then we headed to my friend Sander's house. Me and Sander
met in China, in Shangri-la back in June last year and finally got in touch to meet up again. Henri eventually left but we spent hours talking and going through photography and trip ideas. He told me about a trip he is planning to use quad bikes to travel to and through central Asia. I was really inspired!
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Thierry
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Schaatsen!!
As a Dutch boy I can not tell you that I wish that I was in Holland during the cold period. I went to live in Mexico. Nice and sunny, but I get goose bumps when I see these picture. Hopefully next winter!