I paint with light. Hans van Ommeren, photographer
Saturday June 5th 2021 t/m Sunday September 19th 2021
This summer the Stadsmuseum Woerden will be showing photographs by Hans van Ommeren (1948 - 2018). Hans was a striking photographer who lived and worked in Woerden. He was an obsessed professional who continued to experiment while mastering his technique to perfection. In his advertising work he made bare reality interesting. In his art he was a dreamer who tirelessly sought the perfect image.
Student
Hans van Ommeren is born on June 6th 1948 in Nieuwenbrug. The Ilford Sporti that he buys when he is 8 years old, marks the start of his development into becoming a true photographer. After Hans finishes the Mulo (a Dutch equivalent of secondary school), he combines working in the photography-store of Jaap van der Vooren Sr. in Woerden, with studying at the Fotovakschool (the vocational training in the field of photography) in The Hague. At 26, he starts working as an independent photographer in Woerden.
Craft
In the current age of smartphones and cameras with automatic settings, anyone can take good photos. But before these developments, photography required a lot of technical knowledge about light, aperture, lenses and chemical reactions. Hans is a true craftsman who has mastered these techniques to perfection. He spends a lot of time experimenting with a camera he built himself, constantly inserting different lenses. Once digital photography makes its appearance, he becomes an expert in this field. Yet Hans edits his photos as little as possible. Only one thing matters to him: the result that the photographer gets out of the camera.
Commercial
The commercial pictures of Hans are more than a bare registration of reality. His works excite the viewer. It makes them inquisitive, maybe even curious as to what the story behind the photograph might be and forces the audience to reflect.
Art
After 55 years, Hans stops working as an advertising photographer and focuses more and more on art photography. Hans wants to portray his personal view of the world with new forms of imagery. While searching for these new forms of representation, Hans’s use of colour and shape is heavily influenced by the Germen expressionist painter Emil Nolde (1867-1956).
Hans takes pictures of images that are floating about in his head, with a camera that he built himself. Because of this, the camera has become his paintbrush so he can say ‘I paint with light’.
Short films
In this exhibition visitors are (re)introduced to photography. Photography as art, advertising or as a document of the world around us; it can all be recognized in the work of Van Ommeren. In short films we learn more about Hans' working method as a photographer and get to know him personally. Professionals are interviewed, but also students and good friends.
