Ruud van Empel. Beyond Innocence: Review

Born in 1958, Ruud van Empel is a world renowned Dutch fine art photographer who uses a complicated technique of photography and montage to produce some of the most beautiful photography I have ever seen. The documentary, “Beyond Innocence,” took three years to make and was directed by Erik van Empel, his brother. It is an enthralling and at times very personal insight into the life and work of the artist. I interviewed him for my Art Success series in 2013. When I asked him how the film came about. He told me:

The film starts off with Elton John playing at a concert in the Netherlands. Before he starts the song, he gives a brief speech in which he dedicates the song to van Empel himself- in front of a live audience. It is a touching tribute from a famous collector of van Empels work. Elton John himself is interviewed for the film and the full 25 minute interview can be seen in the extras section of the DVD. A known collector of fine art, it is fascinating to learn about why Sir Elton John collects the work of van Empel and other artists in this rare interview with him…

As the film goes on, you get a sense of a man who is passionate about his work to the point of obsession. There are various, uncommon opportunities to see how van Empel puts his work together, from photographing the subjects, to painstakingly taking them apart and rearranging them in photoshop to get the perfect image. This is evident when he explains that he discards a lot of work simply because it does not match up to his expectations of perfection and beauty. Beauty is something which is of importance to him as he explained during the interview I did with him. He said,

                                                 

The documentary is a rare opportunity to see the artist go through some of his artistic process, obsessing about the arrangement facial features and the general composition of various pieces of work. When I interviewed him, he gave some insight into why he does this. He said,

“You find that you have to find a way to make things look beautiful, because if you start to montage photos in an experimental way, you find that the sizes of things do not fit relative to each other. If you start to do that, things start to become very ugly. In a photo, things have a two dimensional feeling… This applies to the faces, because the faces are montaged completely. The eyes, the eyebrows, the mouth, even the pupils… All of those things are montaged, so the montage is very detailed and I have to be very careful that things are right, that they look as if they could be real. I am therefore very focused on making it beautiful, or not ugly. Because it becomes ugly when it is not correct. If the mouth is just a little bit too big, you see it and feel it immediately and it becomes ugly.”

There is also a rare interview with one of the people who was responsible for launching him on the world stage, curator and director of MOPA, (Museum of Photographic Arts) in San Diego, Deborah Klochko. Klochko talks about why she fell in love with van Empels work and gives her own insight into the artists work which is interesting to listen to.

The film is very well put together with clips from old 8mm film of the artists early life with his family, intimate clips of him chatting with his father and going back to his old family home. There are times when the artist talks openly and freely about his process and his reasoning for doing things in the way that he does. Clips from some of his exhibitions show the scale and beauty in his work in a way which can only be surpassed by seeing the work in life… The clips give you a sense of the detail and depth of the work and is a testament to the love and care that he puts into every tiny element of every single piece he produces.

                                                    

It may be that this documentary was filmed and directed by the artists brother that I found it so touching and personal… I am not entirely sure that I can put my finger on exactly what it was that gave me that feeling. In any case, it is a very real, honest and personal look at the life and work of an artist whose work is a gorgeous examination of beauty and innocence. An artist whose work has made its mark in art history as being the first to portray black children as the subjects of innocence and beauty. If you are at all interested in fine art, it is a film which you must watch.

                                                         

Please see the artists website here for information on how to watch the DVD.