Ed Van Der Elsken (Whom I Think is Long Overdue for a US Retrospective)
Ed van der Elsken moved to Paris in 1950, joining many young Dutch artists and intellectuals seeking respite from the gloomy aftermath of the war in Amsterdam. Love on the Left Bank (1956), created during this period, remains his most celebrated work and the one which secured his reputation in the early 1950s. A noir novel-in-images, it follows a circle of drifting post-war youth, young people whose lives, and ideals, have been devastated by the war. Leading a nocturnal, aimless existence punctuated by drink, drugs and sex, van der Elsken’s free spirits personify the restless hedonism, and the nihilistic spirit that was to animate the French New Wave.
website
Andy wrote:
Hello Chas. Thanks for posting this. His book “Sweet Life” is one of my favorites.
Posted on 09-Jul-07 at 11:53 am | Permalink
kristan Kennedy wrote:
that cast photo is amazing.jeesh.
Posted on 09-Jul-07 at 5:12 pm | Permalink
Kit wrote:
Thanks. I didn’t know this photographer, now I’ll look his website (the ‘girl with the cast’ is sad and wonderful).
Posted on 10-Jul-07 at 3:24 am | Permalink
James McArdle wrote:
Well due for a retrospective anywhere. His encounter with Vali Myers, an Australian artist, led to his wonderful St Germaine des Pres, which I fell in love with as a teenager in the 60s, and still regard as the most bittersweet photo essay. Worth chasing up are his wives Ata Kandó (b. 1913 Budapest, Hungary) and Gerda van der Veen, both also courageous photographers.
Posted on 14-Aug-07 at 4:36 am | Permalink