Paul Blanca (born Paul Vlaswinkel, 11 November 1958 – 16 October 2021) was a Dutch photographer.

Career

Blanca was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. His interest in photography began after he met his contemporary, . She was the daughter of painter . Blanca began using a small, colour camera. He then took black and white photographs using a 6 x 6 cm

Hasselblad Victor Hasselblad AB is a Sweden, Swedish manufacturer of medium format (film), medium format cameras, photographic equipment and image scanners based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company originally became known for its classic analog medium-for ...

camera. In the 1980s Blanca received recognition for his violent self-portraits inspired by the works of

Andres Serrano Andres Serrano (born August 15, 1950) is an American photographer and artist. His work, often considered transgressive art, includes photos of corpses and uses feces and bodily fluids. His '' Piss Christ'' (1987) is an amber-tinged photograph of ...

and

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe ( ; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female Nude (art), n ...

. In 1986, Blanca's book ''Timing'', was published. It recorded upcoming Dutch artists of the 1980s, complemented by the poems of Koos Dalstra. In the 1990s, Blanca became a journalist for the ''

Amsterdam Weekly ''Amsterdam Weekly'' (2004–2012) was a free English-language cultural paper from Amsterdam, published every Wednesday. History and profile ''Amsterdam Weekly'' offered mainly information about cultural topics and events like live concerts, theat ...

''; the ''

Nieuwe Revu The ''Nieuwe Revu'' is a weekly general interest magazine from the Netherlands, published on Wednesdays and written in Dutch. History and profile In the 1970s the magazine was explicitly left-winged and focused on sport, sex, sensation and soci ...

'', and the ''

Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

''. In 1995, Blanca wrote an article for ''

'' which discussed the use of grenades and then became linked to an attack on

Rob Scholte Rob Scholte (born 1 June 1958) is a Dutch contemporary artist. From 1977 to 1982 he studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam. His work consists of reproductions of images from the media and from art history. He lives and works in Den He ...

Influences

Blanca was influenced by the choreographer, photographer, and photographic studio owner

Hans van Manen Hans Arthur Gerard van Manen (; born 11 July 1932) is a Dutch ballet dancer, choreographer and photographer. He studied under Sonia Gaskell and Françoise Adret. Van Manen wrote many ballets. He worked for the Dutch National Ballet from 1973 to ...

. In van Manen’s work, ''Pose'', Blanca played a

kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and ...

(Blanca had been a kickboxer in his teens) surrounded by ten ballerinas. Mapplethorpe mentored Blanca, introducing him to New York

high society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

, including artists such as

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker. Considered a central figure in the development of American postwar art, he has been variously associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and ...

Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning ( , ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. Born in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, he moved to the United States in 1926, becoming a US citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married pa ...

, and

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...

. Mapplethorpe said of Blanca, : "Paul Blanca is my only competitor.".Bill Katz website
/ref> In "True Colors – The Real Life of the Art World" by Anthony Haden, an art collector says, :"He reaches a kind of poetry few artists have." In 1991, Blanca collaborated with Hans Gieles and

Francis Boeske Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie29 ...

of the gallery "Vous Etes Ici", to produce the series "Sangre de Toro" depicting the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

bullfights. In the late 1990s, Blanca shot a series called "Mi Mattes", which depicts gang members hanging around his studio.

Themes

Blanca’s self-portraits reveal strong emotions and violence expressed through fear, aggression, pain, sadness, and sexuality. However, a more sensitive side is shown in the nudes, "Mother and Son" and "Father and Son". The theme of strong emotion is also revealed in Blanca's series "Par la Pluie des Femmes", in which he captured women in tears by having let them think about their most traumatic experiences.

References

External links

Paul Blanca's Official Website

Paul Blanca Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanca, Paul 1958 births 2021 deaths Photographers from Amsterdam