On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. Today is also the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. Below the poem Todesfuge (Death Fugue) by Paul Celan. A photographer and good friend of mine, Koen, told me about this poem while we were discussing Heavens… I had never heard of it… and I thought it fitting for this day today. — Paul Celan – Todesfuge Schwarze Milch der Frühe wir trinken sie abends wir trinken sie... Read the Rest →
Meet my late grandfather, Antoine Libens. Alfons Libens & Jeanne Degros were his parents. But everyone called him Gaston. Gaston is the reason that I ‘m starting my next long term project: Heavens. Heavens will become a personal journey, me trying to make sense of something unimaginable. Something unspeakable. Something that took place in Europe 60 years ago, before I was born. I feel the need to personally understand and place the huge and unimaginable injustice done to so many millions during the years of the Holocaust. A darkest page... Read the Rest →
For years now I’ve used the concept of a light table for my site. And for me, it stood the test of time. My content was simplified to the max, just one single timeline, and in one glance you could see what was going on with me and my work at any given moment. It even simplified the way I would work in the field: “create the story, Anton, don’t think about else”. But lately I’ve been struggling to fit in the different types of things that I do within... Read the Rest →
It’s been 3 months now since I’ve been home, and I’ve started wondering about some things. Even though I’m full on taking care of the distribution of my ODO YAKUZA TOKYO book and images and having great fun doing it and meeting the press and other super interesting people (more on that one soon), I’m starting to feel the need to slowly get into new projects. Broaden my horizon. Deepen my photography. Read more. Learn more. My great-grandparents, even though I never knew them, are right now in my studio... Read the Rest →
Today is exactly 1000 days ago that BURN Magazine published my first image of YAKUZA... and what an adventure that was to become. I must say I had no clue.
These past two months have been great. Humbling also. More than anything else, I’m incredibly grateful for all the attention YAKUZA gets everywhere… Many good things have happened and I’m hoping many more good things will come. And it started all on BURN magazine with David Alan Harvey as my mentor… I literally owe you everything, amigo. I’ve literally received more than a thousand emails after the limited edition sold out, asking if there were plans for a second (general) edition of ODO YAKUZA TOKYO. At the time, I’ve always... Read the Rest →
I never thought it would go this way. I expected to sell about half of what I printed, ever. Instead, the book ODO YAKUZA TOKYO opened on BURN on June 17, and now, 34 days later, the 500 copy limited edition is sold out… If you have any enquiries about this edition, just send me a direct email. Today I’m wrapping the final book to ship. It does feel kind of sentimental. Completely honored, and grateful to the chance I’ve been given, I now need a rest. Just a... Read the Rest →
Recently, the incredibly friendly and professional people at GEO Epoche magazine in Germany contacted me to supply images for their new issue about the history of organized crime throughout the world. Specifically, they wanted to use my images to complement their 18 page chapter about the history of the Yakuza in Japan from 1945 to 2010… of course I gladly obliged. This special issue #48 hits the stands today April 13, 2011. The editors at GEO Epoche are an absolute joy to work with. Super professional, an incredible eye to... Read the Rest →
I thought this was worth a mention: for an interview about my 893-Yakuza project, which will appear in the forthcoming January issue of Fotografie, a Dutch photography magazine, The Editor-in-Chief Diana Bokje (@dianabokje) does something special… not only does she print an interview which captures our various conversations very well, but she also reproduces 5 complete spreads directly out of 893 Magazine Issue#1, including original layout and texts. Simply amazing that someone not only recognizes but also acts upon the the link between images, layout, typography and writing in the... Read the Rest →
A few months ago, I entered Blurb Photography Book Now without any expectations… And suddenly, 2 weeks ago, I got a call from Eileen from Blurb. At that time I was in Japan for the YAKUZA project, right in the middle of photographing a covert training camp for young recruits. When I explained my potentially slightly precarious situation to her, she understood why I wasn’t able to jump up and scream “Yeah!”…. …but we had a great whispery conversation after that :-) Needless to say, I feel incredibly honored to... Read the Rest →
Hey. Once in a while I should write about some tech stuff… and what other topic than the one that us visual artists care most about: our archives… Many articles on the web about this, but I’ve always felt that they assume incorrect things. Obviously I don’t want to go as far as being safe for Extinction Events, or being able to administer my archive on my 1987 Nokia phone… let’s say that I stay within certain limits of reason/feasibility, given the fact that I’m a one-man operation. I guess... Read the Rest →
I wonder how “wide” a photographer should be playing these days. It seems obvious to me that the time has passed that a photographer is merely required to make a good image. Input has expanded from photography to video, internet, graphic design, writing,… Output has grown from just “a book” to a smart mix of different things that make up a whole experience (book, magazine, video, multimedia, website, gallery, exhibition, …) … and all of it seems to be crucially important. To be able to “widen your output” as a... Read the Rest →
Thanks to my dear friend Angelo Guarracino and Giovanna Lalatta from SPAZIOFARINI6 gallery in Milan, 6 large high quality prints from “sugar” are featured in the Milan Photofestival VIII. Needless to say, i am very proud to be part of this event… the opening is March 15th, the festival runs till April 15th… Go ahead, jump in the car and be there, take a look in person, soak it in, and support me by buying a limited edition print! oh and… you can view a pdf of the leaflet. cheers,... Read the Rest →
hey folks… proud to tell you that “sugar” is being featured over at burn magazine, an evolving journal for emerging photographers…. burn is curated by magnum photographer and dear friend david alan harvey… Tweet
I’ve joined PhotoShelter to archive my images, centralize client contacts, and to make distribution easier… they offer a great package of services… let’s see if the new “embed gallery” option works… Tweet
