World Fine Art Professionals and their Key-Pieces, 154 – Jacobien de Korte

World Fine Art Professionals and their Key-Pieces, 154 – Jacobien de Korte
Classical buildings, walls, arcades, rooms with high ceilings, occasionally a living being. And all that in the darkness, fog, rain. If there is light, it is a subdued dusk light.
When I recently walked past Galerie 44 in the Molenstraat in The Hague and saw the work of Jacobien de Korte, I thought that they were paintings. However, they are photos. I immediately had to think of one of the Italian artists between the two world wars: Giorgio de Chirico. Especially because of the inside and outside of the buildings.

The Hague and the Veluwe
A week later I speak to Jacobien in the Society of Pulchri. Her work is indeed about abandonment, introversion with diffusion in the light. She did not initially make the connection of her work with De Chirico. Her work arises mainly from herself.

Jacobien de Korte not only lives in the center of The Hague, she also lives in her house with a studio on the Veluwe, the Dutch forest area. She can work there in peace. In The Hague she usually meets other visual artists and she is often found in The Hague Art Circle (Haagse Kunstkring) and Pulchri. At both associations she is an artist member and at Pulchri also a member of the exhibition committee.

Design and The Hague
Jacobien indicates that she is always busy with design. Both 2D and 3D. Designers and developers should talk more with each other, she thinks. She mentions the Hague center as an example. “In the past, the covered shopping complex of the Markthof was larger, you could cross the current Markthof through the Gedempte Gracht to the other part, and then you eventually ended up, inside and out, on the Grote Marktstraat. It is a pity that this is no longer possible. I would have liked to have seen this fit in some way. Now there is an expedition area.” Thus she has her own thoughts and ideas about the created and to be made world around her.

She also mentions two examples she appreciates: “The Richard Meier City Hall is a timeless building. The light and transparency work well. The town hall forms a beautiful entrance and the connection of the walking route from the Central Station to the center is functional on many fronts. “
Another good example is the redesign of years ago, around the Central Station, the Koekamp. “I used to walk here on a sidewalk, right next to the road. Now you walk past a natural oasis. Even the oak has been retained. It is an example for green in a city and around a station. The landscape architect who took care of this at the time deserves an award. Incidentally, there is again something going on around the CS. “

Pluriform designer
She was working in the applied corner of the arts. She liked to combine graphic design, architecture and photography. “I like applying structures, arranging, composition. In addition, I developed several lesson projects. These lessons were taught in principle by myself and later by freelance skilled workers who worked for me, especially in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague.” She liked to enthuse others and help them with their development. Also in the time that she had a design agency in Rotterdam that was at the same time a training company / internship. “I still think that way. I recently worked as a sounding board for a graduating student at the art academy. My office was located in the Groot Handelsgebouw, for which I photographed, also for tenants in the building I did that. Within these assignments I got freedom again. The skilled workers gave the lessons, which enabled me to focus further on developing autonomous photography. “

Symbolic emptiness
She caught her style early on. “When I recently found my stuff from the Academy time in the attic after a long time, I recognized a lot. The same feeling is in it. Symbolic emptiness, so I will describe the work of that time at the moment. “
She then followed the direction Graphic design at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. “Photography as a subject was part of the curriculum, although I had known about it for a long time. I always call it ‘a loyal friend, whom I like to keep to myself’. “This changed from 2013 onwards. The time was apparently ripe. Her work was exhibited in the fall of 2013 in an exhibition at Galerie Frame in Amersfoort. She was asked to add a biography to her work. “At that moment you are confronted with yourself, you have to explain the reason for photographing and what you want to convey with your work. The process felt very natural, the emphasis was on the autonomous. “

Good prints
The key moment came when she learned to print her pictures herself. After the transition from analogue to digital photography, she no longer received well-produced prints from the photo labs. Her free work was thus moved to the background. She did not print herself in a darkroom for a long time. A Rotterdam photographer, now living in Taiwan and in the meantime a special friend, saw her work and asked if he could print it on high-quality fine art paper. “I like it when you watch,” he told her. Both took place behind computer and printer and slowly the (color) print emerged. As two happy, curious children, they rushed to the window / daylight. The old-fashioned darkroom feeling was back!

“I had the feeling of having control again, along with the fantastic feeling of communicating through the image. Because that’s what we did … ” They continued with a whole series, on a size of A4 and then A3. “He then made a few prints for me and then I took over his printer. He bought a bigger one. “It’s going to cost you money, time and ink,” he told me. My first home-made print was a hit. That gave me the confidence to continue experimenting with various types of paper. And I now had my own prints as a reference for the professional labs for producing prints in large format. “
In fact, her method is that of a painter, where the final result, the print, is just as important as the photographing itself. “Choosing the right paper, the presentation … The whole process is important. It is the feeling that you want to translate as well as possible. “

Painting
She has also been painting recently, at least, she is busy mastering the profession. “I want to be independent and be able to work anywhere. This is difficult with my equipment. But you can draw everywhere. “
She always has a sketchbook when she is on the road along with some painting attributes. “That combines fantastically with photography. It feeds each other. “
Secret
The exhibition in Galerie 44 in The Hague was titled ‘Secret’. Jacobien, finally: “I think it is important that a bit of secrecy remains”.

https://www.jacobiendekorte.com/
https://denhaag.com/nl/locatie/26979/galerie-44

https://ifthenisnow.eu/nl/verhalen/de-wereld-van-de-haagse-kunstenaar-73-jacobien-de-korte.