Over boeken, literaire reflecties en het web van literatuur, door Niek de Greef. Werner Herzog, Paul Theroux, V.S. Naipaul en meer. Nederlandse en Engelstalige boeken.

I Will Be Wolf – Bertien van Manen

I will be wolf - Bertien van Manen - book cover

I Will Be Wolf – Bertien van Manen’s Debut Masterpiece

Published in 1975, I Will Be Wolf marks the remarkable debut of Dutch photographer Bertien van Manen. This photobook offers an intimate glimpse into everyday life through Van Manen’s distinctive lens.

A European Answer to The Americans

Van Manen’s work in I Will Be Wolf clearly shows the influence of Robert Frank’s iconic The Americans, yet it carves out its own unique territory. Where Frank’s vision was often critical and confrontational, Van Manen approaches her subjects with warmth and gentleness. Her photographs reveal a more compassionate eye, one that observes rather than judges.

The book exudes a wonderful freshness that remains striking nearly five decades later. Van Manen’s street photography demonstrates she had studied not only Robert Frank but also William Eggleston’s groundbreaking color work. Like Eggleston, she possesses a certain shyness in her approach to photography.

The Art of Subtle Observation

What makes I Will Be Wolf particularly compelling is Van Manen’s technique of maintaining distance. Many photographs capture people from behind, often taken from afar with views deliberately obstructed by poles, window frames, and architectural elements. This aesthetic choice creates layers of meaning – the viewer becomes a quiet observer, much like the photographer herself.

This restrained approach doesn’t diminish the power of the images. Instead, it adds an layer of intimacy and authenticity. Van Manen’s subjects inhabit their own worlds, unaware or unconcerned with the camera’s presence. The result is photography that feels genuine and unforced.

Why I Will Be Wolf Matters

For collectors and students of photobooks, I Will Be Wolf represents an essential piece of Dutch photography history. It showcases Van Manen’s early vision before she went on to create celebrated works like East Wind West Wind and A Hundred Summers, A Hundred Winters.

The book demonstrates that European street photography in the 1970s could be both influenced by American masters and distinctly its own. Van Manen found her voice early, and this debut remains as relevant and engaging today as when it first appeared.

Conclusion

I Will Be Wolf is a photobook that rewards careful attention, revealing more with each viewing. For anyone interested in documentary photography, Dutch photography, or the evolution of the photobook as an art form, Bertien van Manen’s debut is essential viewing.

photo from I will be wolf - Bertien van Manen

A History of Pictures, by Hockney and Gayford

a history of pictures

In the format of a semi-dialog, David Hockney and Martin Gayford in A History of Pictures discuss the history and various aspects of  picture-making.

Beautifully illustrated.

The most interesting thing is that Hockney seems not to have a very high regard for photography.

“… I question photography. A lot of people don’t, they accept the world looks like a photograph.

“But colour photography couldn’t get tones like those [Vermeer] as is has to rely on the dyes or printing ink. Those aren’t like paint, and never will be.”

“… I don’t know whether photography is an art. Some photographers considered themselves artists, and some didn’t
… Good photography does require intelligence and imagination but a lot of it is very mechanical.”

Vermeer, Caravaggio, Degas, Delacroix, a few of the painters mentioned in the book that used photographic techniques for their paintings.

“Photography came out of painting and as far as I can see that’s where it is returning.”

Figuring

Maria Popova announced her book, Figuring. First time in my life I have pre-ordered a book. It is arriving in February 2019. Maria  Popova is the creator of one of the world’s best blogs: Brain Pickings.

Figuring

 

 

Here I am – Jonathan Safran Foer

Here I am - Jonathan Safran Foer cover

Reading: Here I Am. 

The Mother of Witty Dialogs.

A TV Show writer predicts his crumbling family life in the stories he invents for his show (not the other way around: writes about his family life on the TV Show).

The Phoenix Project – a must-read

On the back of The Phoenix Project it says “a must read for business and IT executives”. It is.

You need data backing up issues. Not hearsay.

Your job as a VP of IT Operations:
– Ensure a fast, predictable, uninterrupted flow of planned work that delivers value to the business.
– Minimize the implact and disruption of unplanned work in order to provide stable, predictable and secure IT.

The Three Ways:

  1. Ensure a fast flow from Dev to Ops.
  2. Shorten and amplify feedback loops.
  3. Foster a culture of experimentation and learning from failure.

There is a Brent in every organization. The wizard that pieces everything together and seems to be a required resource on every project. His knowledge must be documented, his process automated.
If he is not a Sharer but a Hoarder, keeping all information to himself, he must be fired eventually.

Four categories of work:

  • Business projects
  • Infrastructure/IT projects
  • Changes
  • Unplanned work

The theory of Constraints:

  • Identify the constraint
  • Exploit the constraint: make sure it can not waste time
  • Subordinate the constraint

Work in progress (WIP) is the BIG Killer for productivity. Get things done.

Technical debt: when not paid down, interest grows over time. You keep paying (more and more) interest in the form of unplanned work.

A work center: man, machine, method, measures.

Start with thinking totally extreme: think improving to the extreme (deploy from once every 3 month to 10 times per day).

IT is at the core of every modern organization. Ignoring that will bring the organization in Big Trouble.

Hoarders vs Sharers. People holding information about tasks they only know how to do. Get rid of that/them.

Nice summary in the back.

Also about productivity in IT: Grip.