Boschplaat 1

About Jan Koster

Jan Koster - Dutchscapes It has been said that landscapes exist only in the eyes of the observer. Most of the time, then, we look at landscapes through the eyes of the photographer. Robert Adam’s once described this genre as a combination of geography, autobiography and metaphor. Good landscape photography does more than simply document a piece of land, it allows it to transcend this form

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Jan Koster - Dutchscapes

It has been said that landscapes exist only in the eyes of the observer. Most of the time, then, we look at landscapes through the eyes of the photographer. Robert Adam’s once described this genre as a combination of geography, autobiography and metaphor. Good landscape photography does more than simply document a piece of land, it allows it to transcend this form and become a personal statement. This can be seen in the images of Dutch photographer Jan Koster, an expert on his home country, who quickly developed a unique form of landscape photography. His works are expressions of an intensive debate with the history and experience of the landscape.
The geographical history of the Netherlands alone provides him with enough inspiration, its coastlines and coastal protection are key features of his works. Few countries are so threatened by flooding and the powers of disruption. Koster reveals the diversity of the dune dominated landscape by varying the standpoint only marginally. He also adds something symbolic to each view: the dunes are accentuated through a deliberate balance of colour and light, or are combined to create irritating double views. The sheer expanse of the landscape, juxtaposed by the theatrics of the sky, almost allows us to forget how much geological history and how many ingenious landscaping techniques are contained in the dunes. What remains hidden to the eye of the observer is less the objective element of pure documentation, and more the subjective or associative aspect of the landscape, something that only begins to appear on second glance. In Koster’s images we see how the dunes toss and turn on the bed of the landscape, as if dreaming a violent dream.

Stephan Reisner

VITA

1959	Born in Kampen, Netherlands
	Lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands