The Spirit of a Time
The Spirit of a Time
December 21, 2011
Author:
Catharina Gerritsen
Tags:
Cor Jaring
The Netherlands
Catharina Gerritsen
documentary
It’s important to keep an eye on all the young, talented photographers that are poppin’ up everywhere. But it’s also good to look back at who got us where we are today. In my opinion, Cor Jaring (1936), a Dutch photographer who closely followed the hippie and provo movement in the 60’s in Amsterdam, is one of those icons we should cherish.
I clearly remember when I got his overview book Jaring from my father a few years ago, who immediately flipped through the book and pointed out a bunch of exotic looking people that he knew from that turbulent period. I say this, because it shows how much Jaring’s work tells us about a certain time and place; anybody who lived through the sixties in Amsterdam will recognise many of the scenes in these pictures. The Vietnam demonstration, the squatter riots, the flowerpower movement starring guys in dresses and naked woman with flowers in their hair, the infamous weed boat.. Jaring was (and still is to this day) a man from the streets, a photographer who doesn’t just take a picture, but takes part in the moment and the movement. A special movement that transformed a country and a movement that no longer exists, which is exactly what makes his pictures irreplaceable.
His most mysterious (and my favourite) body of work is about the Insect Sect. This was a group of people who noticed ‘the little amount of butterflies still left’ and decided to form a movement in ‘68 that playfully raised questions about the way society dealt with environmental issues. They did performances like the Butterfly Opera and a First Frog Expedition. Cor Jaring was a member of this Insect Sect and captured every single moment of it. Because of the absurd scenes, the pictures seem bizarre, almost theatrical.
I don’t think Jaring’s photography could be made or be relevant today. That being said, he ís a great inspiration for being in the middle of everything, for capturing the true spirit of a particular time. Like he says in an interview, the most important thing you can do as a photographer, is to reflect on and registrate the spirit of a time for future generations. Well, I think Cor Jaring did a pretty damn good job.
