Ivo van der Bent

fotografie journalistiek

website

nz5 40x 53 cm, oplage 15, afwerking dibond plexiglas en ophangframe in overleg ingelijst als serie ander tarief

€ 730,00

Ivo van der Bent (Den Haag, 1983) is in 2006 afgestudeerd aan de Fotoacademie in Amsterdam, waarbij hij tevens direct de Photo Academy Award for documentairy photographywon. Vanaf die tijd is hij werkzaam als freelance fotograaf. Hij woont en werkt in Amsterdam.

Een groot deel van zijn werkzaamheden wordt in opdracht uitgevoerd, maar hij maakt ook vrij werk. Bij zijn opdrachten –voor talrijke kranten, tijdschriften en bedrijven- laat hij de wensen en ideeën van de klant een zekere rol spelen. “Daar word ik immers voor ingehuurd?”. Maar hij heeft natuurlijk ook zijn eigen uitgangspunten en ingevingen. En eenmaal aan het werk laat hij zich met plezier inspireren door zijn onderwerp en diens omgeving.

Zijn werk lijkt op het eerste gezicht een simpel portret, maar vaak  gebeurt er veel meer. De compositie is altijd flink doordacht en zijn aandacht voor details is navenant groot. Meestal ‘simpel’ ingeflitst, zodat hij veel flexibiliteit houdt.

“My photography isn’t meant to be beautiful”.

 

  • About

    "My photography isn’t meant to be beautiful"
    IVO VAN DER BENT was born in The Hague in 1983. After graduating from the Amsterdam Academy of Photography in 2006 and winning the Photo Academy Award for documentary photography, he started working as a freelance photographer in The Hague before moving to Amsterdam where he is now based.

    In his work – mainly commissioned – both for editorial and advertising purposes, Ivo doesn't seem to have any trouble dealing with both his clients’ and his own views: “I do my own thing. After all, that’s what they want: my picture. That’s why they hire me. Of course, if there are any restrictions or guidelines, I do work according to those, but once I'm on the spot with my camera, I let the scene inspire me and I work with the elements that are there until I get a great shot."

    There is no compromising in Ivo's photography – a quick look at his work tells us that much. He doesn't offer us any glimpse of his own perspective, but instead he confronts us with the reality he has orchestrated and lets us decide for ourselves what to think.

    What Ivo means to say with his motto "My photography isn’t meant to be beautiful" is that even though he does consider the aesthetic side of his pictures, his main intention is not to seek the most pleasant or graceful side of his subjects. His interest lies elsewhere: on the edge of reality and representation. Some of Ivo's pictures may look like snapshots at first sight, but a closer look will reveal his strong compositions and attention to detail. In action, his absolute presence together with a simple flash technique ensures both control and flexibility. The scene becomes his playground; he lets his subjects face the camera, and freezes the moment when the scene he has created uncovers something new, appealing, unexpected, or revealing.

    His strong personality and direct approach, his taste for peculiar situations and his genuine indifference towards drawing conclusions enable Ivo to take unsettling pictures that reveal suspended situations and relationships on the verge of changing. We are directly involved but we can't influence the images, and even if they seem to be asking for our verdict, actually, like it or not, there is no room for our judgments. What you see is what you get: Ivo's pictures.