Photographs freeze one moment. People, objects and entire landscapes are suspended in time and that singular instance lives on, from the smallest buzzing fly to the crest of a great wave. Like a director, the person behind the camera has the power to guide actors, props and settings to realise their creative visions. Lens-based artists that have gained widespread renown for their roles as filmmaker-photographers include Gregory Crewdson (b. 1962) and Julie Blackmon (b. 1966). Another name to know is Erwin Olaf (1959-2023). The Dutch creative came onto the Amsterdam scene in his early twenties and went on to build an illustrious career that stretched over 40 years. Throughout the 1980s, Olaf was a well-known and well-loved artist and gay rights activist in The Netherlands, photographing drag queens, bodybuilders, fetishists and celebrities at discotheques and performances. Olaf’s artwork illuminated and celebrated underground scenes, claiming a spotlight for LGBTQIA+ people and expanding the everyday possibilities of the community living in the country. Now, Edwynn Houk Gallery in New York shares an exhibition, titled Stages, that explores a theme at the heart of his practice: performance.
Stages includes Olaf’s 1980s documentation of Amsterdam’s gay and nightlife scenes. At the centre of this show are highly produced series, including Hope (2005) and Grief (2007). Moments of yearning are immortalised by the lens, prompting the viewer to consider what the subjects are thinking. For example, The Kitchen shows a woman sat alone in the domestic setting. Her pastel clothing – cream and grey – are at odds with her saturated red surroundings. We can see that her eyes are cast to the floor. Is she waiting? Why? And, for whom? Next, we are whisked to The Hallway to witness a pensive pair. A woman leans against the wall, consumed in thought, whilst a man faces away from her in the foreground. What’s their story? These tableaux — whether occurring on a social stage, theatrical stage or studio set — portray beautiful but not necessarily camera-ready moments, often lit by a flash of unscripted emotional experience.
Olaf’s meticulously crafted scenes, most of which were produced entirely inside his studio, launched his career onto the international stage. Series such as Gay Couples (2008), Keyhole (2011-13) and Palm Springs (2018) show elaborately designed mise-en-scene and beautifully coiffed ensembles. However, each detail on display also evokes tension and mystery. As the artist described, these photographs suggest “a perfect world with a crack.” As if projecting a private moment to the public, he held a magnifying glass to the uncanny elements of taken-for-granted domesticity. Perfectly polished yet transgressive, these scenes peer into rooms we were told not go into, addressing social issues, taboos and conventions. Similar to forebears such as Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989), who had a major influence on the artist in his early years, Olaf also became preoccupied with still life photographs of floral arrangements in his studio, compositions that could be read as evading or embodying these human dramas.
Dance was a major source of inspiration for the image-maker. A particular point of interest was the tension between beauty and strength. After Rodin (2016) shows two hands curled into one another. Our eyes are drawn to the subtle moment where fingertips touch. It references the sculptural characteristics of dancers in the Dutch National Ballet whilst paying homage to the Impressionist founder of modern sculpture, August Rodin (1840-1917). The 19th century practitioner was famous for work such as The Thinker (1904) and The Kiss (1881). Elsewhere in the gallery, visitors will see Olaf’s final completed series, Dance in Close Up (2022). This was a collaborative project between the artist and choreographer Hans van Manen (b. 1932), celebrating their shared vision of evocative gesture and the gifts of the stage.
At the core is a fine balance between a perfect surface and what truly hides beneath. Bodies move in impressive feats of human agility, flexibility and strength whilst their faces remain completely serene. Subjects inhabit lavish interiors, gazing passively into the distance. Olaf invites the viewer to participate in what they are seeing by imagining the world behind the shot, from suppressed rage to years of disciplined training. We unlock more to the image by asking: what is the story behind this moment in time?
Edwynn Houk Gallery, Erwin Olaf: Stages | Until 26 October
Words: Diana Bestwish Tetteh
Image Credits:
- Erwin Olaf, Huai Hai 116, Portrait 01, 2017 Inkjet print 29 1/2 x 22 inches Edition of 12 + 2 APs
- Erwin Olaf, Still Life with Anthurium, 2015 Chromogenic print 30 3/8 x 23 3/8 inches Edition of 12
- Erwin Olaf, Nude II, 1986 Gelatin silver bromide print on baryta paper 14 3/4 x 14 3/4 inches (37.5 x 37.5 cm) Edition of 15 + 2 APs.
- Erwin Olaf, Berlin, Olympia Stadion Westend, Selbstporträt, 25 April, 2012 Carbon print 9 7/8 x 6 5/8 inches (25 x 16.9 cm) Edition of 2 + 2 APs.
- Erwin Olaf, Caroline, 2007 Chromogenic print 23 5/8 x 42 inches Edition of 12 + 2 APs.
