Rineke Dijkstra: Night Watching and Pictures from the Archive
© Rineke Dijkstra, Kolobrzeg, Poland, July 27, 1992, 2023. Archival inkjet print. Image: 59 x 46 7/8 in. (150 x 119 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery.
Written by Madeline Lerner
Photo Edited by Lyz Rider
Photographer Rineke Dijkstra is constantly examining the complexities of human identity and relationships. This winter, the renowned artist will be displaying Night Watching and Pictures from the Archive at Marian Goodman Gallery in Manhattan. The exhibit features photos from her career archive, including selections from her Beach Portraits series as well as other photographs she has taken around the world. Additionally, the artist screens her film Night Watching, a three-channel video recording various groups as they discuss and observe Rembrant’s The Night Watch at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
© Rineke Dijkstra, Coney Island, N.Y., USA, June 26, 1993, 2023. Archival inkjet print. Image: 53 1/2 x 42 1/2 in. (136 x 107.9 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery.
Dijkstra studied at Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and made a name for herself with her Beach Portraits series in the 90’s and early 2000s. Her style is marked by straight-on, meticulously composed yet minimalist portraits of people around the world. The minimal backgrounds of her photographs draw a viewer’s focus directly to her subjects. Ranging widely in age and appearance, the subjects all pose facing the camera, their whole bodies captured as they stand alone or in a group. Despite the detached nature of these portraits, Dijkstra’s minimalist artistic style allows for photographs that actually enhance elements of her subjects’ personalities and relationships. Bare backgrounds, lack of props, and simple posing strips away any real context, and forces the viewer to observe small details about the subjects, revealing their deeply human qualities.
© Rineke Dijkstra, Coney Island, N.Y., USA, June 27, 1993, 2023. Archival inkjet print. Image: 53 1/2 x 42 1/2 in. (136 x 107.9 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery.
© Rineke Dijkstra, Brighton, UK, August 19, 1992, 2023. Archival inkjet print. Image: 16 1/2 x 13 in. (42 x 33 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery.
Through her photography, Dijkstra invites viewers to examine how bonds between the subjects are visible, whether through shared appearance, body language, or gestures. In Coney Island, New York, we see an older man with his arm around a young boy. Their shared physical characteristics as well as the protective nature of the older man’s gesture imply a potential father-son relationship. In Brighton, UK, another Beach Portrait captures two adolescent girls and between them, a young boy with his arms around both. While the visible bonds between subjects are obvious, the minute details that foster each subjects’ individuality require focus.
© Rineke Dijkstra, Night Watching, 2019. 3-channel HD video installation, with sound; 35 min. looped. Installation at Marian Goodman Gallery, London, 2020. Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery. Photo credit: Lewis Ronald.
Central to the exhibit is Dijkstra’s film, Night Watching, which is screened on three side-by-side channels. The film shows various groups of people as they observe and discuss features of Rembrant’s famous 1642 painting, The Night Watch, which is offscreen. Dijkstra set up cameras in front of the painting, and over the course of six days, filmed groups of visitors as they react with frankness and curiosity. The film was originally screened in 2019 in the Rijksmuseum in a room adjacent to the original painting so that visitors could revisit and reexamine their observations. Dijkstra brilliantly captures candid observations, allowing individuals to reveal their own perceptions of The Night Watch. The visitors’ observations range from random remarks to suggestive connections to their personal lives, providing the viewer with an awareness of the groups’ dynamics and individual identities.
© Rineke Dijkstra, Installation view “Night Watching and Pictures from the Archive,” Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery. Photo credit: Alex Yudzon.
Dijkstra’s exceptional eye for detail and composition is a compelling examination of humanity. See Night Watching and Pictures from the Archive at Marian Goodman Gallery in Manhattan until December 20, 2023.
