Category Archives: Route 66/USA

Photography: Route 66/USA

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Opening: Saturday 10th September, 17:00 – 19:00, with music performance by Luke Nyman. Solo show. Lumen Travo gallery, Amsterdam

Crossing the country by car for a month during the Credit Crunch and the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency, Delphine Bedel photographed the stunning scenery, eclectic architecture and the people, heart and soul of Route 66. With incisiveness and wit, her highly personal documentary and visual diary captures the afterimage of the 60′s prosperity and exuberance, and the aftermath of the recent crisis. For her second solo exhibition in the gallery, a selection of her photographs and road movie will be presented.

This legendary route was for over half a century the main access from East to West, crossing 8 states. The Mother Road. Taking a bite out of its glamorous lure, Route 66 was decommissioned in 1984 and officially disappeared. Replaced by new Interstate Highways bypassing small towns, it created a great strain for the economy along the old road and its inhabitants.

From the Grand Canyon to the ‘Magnificent Mile’ of motels and drive-thru chain stores, from the Dust Bowl years to the hope and angst of the near future, unexpected perspectives unfold along the journey across America, and reflect upon a country in a disrupted present.

Home on the road, travelling together with singer-songwriter Luke Nyman, revisiting the landmarks of American Beat culture, filming with hand-held camera and improvising music performances in many places along the road trip. Bedel filmed and recorded stories from the ‘Children of the Mother Road’: a cowboy’s wife, motel workers, war veterans, artists, musicians and historians, all had stories to tell.

Photography: The Last Session

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18 September – 18 October 2009
De Brakke Ground, Amsterdam

Presentation of the road movie ‘From the Sidelines – A journey on Route 66′, and a selection of photographs from my journey to America.

THE LAST SESSION: focuses on the aesthetics of endism. Endism in our culture embraces many forms, and partially touches everyone’s life in its connection with death. Endism is an attitude as much as a myth, a sense of foreboding as much as a given story, an orientation to ultimate concerns as much as a commitment to a specific end time narrative. Endism describes the future location and deepest yearnings of the self. Endism is process and vision. It cuts against all logic, is usually mystical, and may become magical. The exhibition will bring together the work of an international selection of artists whose work relates to the broadly interpreted theme of Endism.

With Tomas Adolfs, Stephan Balleux, Paulien Barbas, Delphine Bedel, Staffan Björk, Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries, Fia Cielen, Christine Clinckx, Martha Colburn, Orpheu de Jong, Hadassah Emmerich, Fienden, Andrea Galvani, Tony Garifalakis, Joris Ghekiere, ioulex, Experimental Jetset, Gert Jan Kocken, Matthias Kreutzer, Alexandra Leykauf, Jen Liu, Liesbeth Marit, Kalle Mattsson, Oskar Nilsson, Nick Oberthaler, Dear Reader, Rafael Rozendaal, Kalle Runeson, Etta Säfve, Steve Schepens, Jens Schildt, Seher Shah, Helmut Stallaerts, Tarja Szaraniec, Monica Tormell, Dennis Tyfus, Philippe Vandenberg, Filip Vervaet, Chad VanGaalen, Anne Wenzel and Fabio Wuytack.

THE LAST SESSION: An exhibition, a cinema, a publication.
Curated by Jan Van Woensel in collaboration with The Session.
Vlaamse Cultuurhuis De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam
18 September – 18 October 2009

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Photography: From The Sidelines – A Journey on Route 66

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16 May – 30 august 2009
Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal, Leiden

Crossing America during the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency.
A photographic essay.

Although the Route 66 is known to be a scenic road and a celebrated myth, Route 66 is most of all about the people who live and work along it, and who keep it’s unique spirit alive. Created in 1927, the route was for over half a century the main access from East to West, crossing 8 states. Decommissioned in 1984, Route 66 officially disappeared, to be replaced by new Interstate Highways. This created a great strain for the economy along the old road and its inhabitants. A renewed interest in the recent years for the Route’s rich patrimony and it’s legacy, central to the American history, is now contributing to a regaining popularity, transforming the Route itself into a tourist destination. Drawing a parallel with the emergence of Plymouth in the late 19th century as a tourist destination, as seen in Burbank’s photographs, Delphine Bedel initiated a new research project entitled ‘From The Sidelines’.

Crossing the country by car for a month together with the singer-songwriter Luke Nyman, during the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency, Bedel photographed the stunning scenery, the eclectic architecture and the people, and Nyman played in many places along the road. Together they also filmed and recorded stories from the ‘Children of the Mother Road’: a cowboy’s wife, motel workers, war veterans, artists, musicians and historians, all had stories to tell. From the Dust Bowl years to the Credit Crunch, from the New World to the Trail of Tears, (the forced exile of the Cherokee Nation), from the Grand Canyon to the ”Magnificent Mile’ of drive-thru chain stores, unexpected perspectives unfold along the journey across Obama’s America, and reflect upon a country in a disrupted present.

Bedel’s photographic essay an their road movie are presented in this exhibition. Luke will be performing at the opening and on the 4th of July, together with the Travlin’ Tunes Tour. This project was commissioned in the frame of the exhibition ‘Holland Mania’ at the Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden. A publication will be released on that occasion, with a text by Rachel Esner. A selection of 136 prints of the 19th century Burbank’s photographs will also be presented on that occasion. These images are part of the collection o the Library of Leiden.

The travelogue of Delphine Bedel and Luke Nyman on the Mother Road will be online soon at blog.fromthesidelines.org

In the frame of the exhibition ‘Holland Mania’
16 May – 30 august 2009
Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal, Leiden
Oude Singel 28-32
www.lakenhal.nl