PHOTO BOOKS - FOTOBOEKEN

                                   

GEERT VERBEKE  & JENNY OVAERE

News of a new book by Geert and Jenny chimes on the air like a church bell, calling us to a joyous and uplifting experience. As always we are invited to a gallery of clear succinct images; fragments of the beautiful moments Geert  and Jenny have encountered on their countless journeys. The haiku, needless to say, excellently merge with the images, yet remain full of their own sadness, amusement, and beauty. Enough Words! - open the pages and SEE! 

John McDonald, Scotland.

 

 ANTA (c)   2007

Culturen ontdekken, culturen waarderen. Mensen ontdekken, mensen waarderen…Als je de foto's van Jenny bekijkt ervaar je een balans van gezonde nieuwsgierigheid, ware verwondering en eerlijke interesse in de mens en in de wijze waarop hij in zijn omgeving staat. Op deze wijze geeft de wereldreizigster, die Jenny is, uiting aan de warme persoonlijkheid die in haar schuilt. Geen kritiek, geen aanklacht, maar rustige registratie. De haiku's van Geert geven gepaste accenten bij de eerste impressies, soms verrassende reflecties. Een twee-eenheid die een moment van contemplatie creëert. Jacques Germonprez

 

The collaboration of life partners photographer Jenny Ovaere and poet Geert Verbeke is an event to celebrate. In their respective arts, each has a genius for extracting the essence from their subjects, focusing a magnifying glass upon it and making us say, Ah, but I’ve never seen that before! So what better marriage than that of Jenny’s spectacular photography to Geerts haiku - each one, a verbal snapshot of a moment in time. From the transcendent to the mundane, from the inspiring to the outlandish, these pairings bring the gamut of life in the world around us and within us into sharp focus. Cathy Drinkwater Better , author, poet, editor; Maryland, USA.

 

 ABRACADABRA (c) 2008

Geert Verbeke en zijn hartsvriendin Jenny Ovaere reiken met dit haiku-fotoboek glasheldere en fraaie observaties aan. Hun creatieve zwart-wit foto’s zijn suggestief.  Abracadabra is een aanbevolen bundel met verstilde emoties. Foto’s en haiku’s sluiten naadloos bij elkaar aan, voorbij grenzen, andere culturen en religies.  Een ontroerend boek!

 
ABRACADABRA, true to the style of Geert Verbeke and most mature artists, poses more open questions than gives concrete answers. This collection of black-white photographs and haiku is an ambitious endeavour, challenging both the artists and the public in many ways. What would otherwise be perceived as yet another beautiful coffee table book of brilliant black-white photographs is transformed into a journey – not only to different physical destinations, but also to diverse states of mind and culture, all the while creating many levels of intellectual and artistic complexity which far surpass black-white photography in its most simplistic form as a medium in that Verbeke and Ovaere actually create “colour” in their use of the medium. This “colour” is further accentuated by the bilingual haiku that accompany each photo. I use the verb “accompany” loosely here, as the two mediums (photography and haiku) function at times both together, at times in complement with each other and at other times separately, from page to page. The photographers’ natural abilities to “see” and to “capture” images, and to find the poetry of the moment are quite remarkable. These photographs function very well as a pure book of photography, and even as a private photography gallery exhibition. All in all, Abracadabra is a brilliant, captivating and personally transporting work aesthetically. One is easily drawn into both photos and texts. As I previously have seen in the haiku, tanka and haibun of Geert Verbeke: nothing is just ‘black and white’, and there is always in his work an invitation to discussion. Perhaps that is part of what “art” is all about ... Adam Donaldson Powell, Norway 2008.

 

 INNIG:11 juli 2009 - FOTOBOEK met 70 tanka's.

 

Leven en dood zijn als licht en schaduw. Met onbedorven zwart-wit foto’s raken Geert Verbeke en Jenny Ovaere aan wat een mens ontroert bij ziekte en afscheid nemen: droefheid, zachte weemoed, onzekerheid, pijn, ontreddering, tedere herinneringen en alles wat stil maakt.

 

Dit fotoboek beklijft in zijn eenvoud en directe waarneming.  Al bij al een indrukwekkende bundel met op elke pagina een foto in stemmig zwart-wit. Als aanvulling schreef Geert Verbeke 70 doordachte en gevoelige tanka’s. Een minimum aan woorden raakt aan wat een mens ontroert. Een warm boek bij rouwverwerking.

 

Bij het doorbladeren van dit boek is het eigenlijk doodjammer te moeten vaststellen dat in onze wereld de zwart-witfotografie grotendeels verloren is gegaan. Het sobere maar toch kleurrijke van de tanka's en het stille, contemplatieve fotomateriaal leiden de lezer vanuit een chaotische en lawaaierige buitenwereld naar zijn kern: de eenvoud in zichzelf. Een boek als rustpunt in de tijd. Dirk, D'Hoogpoorte Gent

 

Bijzonder indrukwekkend deze schat aan foto’s en tanka’s. Marleen Hulst, haikuïste NL.

 

 

 Verschenen op gedichtendag 2010

Een fotoboek over Kathmandu met werk van Geert Verbeke (foto's en 48 haiku's) en Jenny Ovaere (foto's). Zoals gebruikelijk in een verzorgde uitvoering en een gelimiteerde oplage.

RENDEZVOUS:

Thank you for the beautiful book! it is quite striking.I see that you have started to "master" this book genre that you have essentially created, and you have most successfully made the most out of both text and photography in the way you have placed them in this book. Fantastic! I am very proud of you, and some very nice reviews/comments in the book as well. Seldom does a book leave me totally speechless, and when I do have such an experience (mind you only for moments - I do love to express myself in words) it more often than not is a book of art photography or superbly-written haiku. In their latest artistic venture: «Rendezvous», Geert Verbeke and Jenny Ovaere have worked their «magic» and spun gold out of pure simplicity. I have reviewed many a haiku book, many a haiku plus illustration or haiku plus photography book, including several by Geert Verbeke, but in this instance the total symmetry of art plus literature has approached new heights in terms the «book as an artistic medium». Both because of the superb art presented and because of the superb presentation of the art. In «Rendezvous» they have found the optimal format for combining haiku and art photography, giving each its proper place in the limelight, and together forming a musical backdrop egging the book admirer to dance forwards and backwards, again and again. This is not merely a book with good art in it, the book is itself a work of art.

Geert Verbeke is renowned as a haiku artist, musician, painter and photographer, but in this work he has successfully combined all of his talents to portray the essence and spirit of Nepal, in its various
spontaneous and traditional cultural perspectives. Anyone who has been in Nepal will most likely instantly be transported back to their experiences there while looking at this beautiful book. And that is what good art does: it affects and inspires the observer/recipient in a way that he/she becomes a participating creator himself/herself.

It is customary to list the cameras and objectives used by the artists, so I will do so just briefly: Geert Verbeke: Pentax IST-DS, Pentax K200 +zoom 18-5, 28-80 mm, 80-320 mm. Jenny Ovaere: Pentax IST-D-L+ 40 mm, 28-200 mm & 18-55 mm.

The «magic» created by these two artists goes far beyond their technical abilities or the photographic equipment used. The book is tastefully not numbered (as that would detract from the overall sensation of the work) so it is difficult for me to cite particular photos. All are wonderful, but in my opinion the portraits are breathtakingly exquisite and are (together) worthy of a contemporary art museum exhibition in their own right. The art photography books that I have seen by Geert Verbeke and Jenny Ovaere have all been professionally-produced, with excellent reproduction, design and binding. Here there is no exception. And like all works of genius, this work of art is presented with simplicity and modesty. This is a book to be treasured, but also to be brought out and looked at from time to time, over and over again. Namaste! Adam Donaldson Powell, Oslo, Norway.

We all enjoyed your book tremendously last night. Everyone agreed your photos are incredibly inspiring… there was a great deal of conversation enjoyed while we were all looking through the book also. This book is a treasure! Leahna  Hardie, New Zealand.

 

 

BOWLS 31- 05 - 2010

 

BOWLS: Like a rose emerging through the snow (in this economic climate) this volume of pictures, to delight the eye of any bowlfreak, nestles between a few pages of words and haiku with a few gongs, cymbals, flowerpots, and glass bowls thrown into the mix. A beautiful subject artistically and imaginatively delivered with some astounding photos. Frank Perry, bowl master UK.

BOWLS: Geert Verbeke's follow-up art photography book to "Rendezvous" is entitled "Bowls". This small book is a pearl amongst pearls. The mastery of technical and artistic decision-making employed in exacting art and sound from these highly-meditative photos is astounding. To write any more would simply detract from the beauty of this work of art. Geert Verbeke rules! Reviewer Adam Donaldson Powell, Oslo, Norway, 2010

BOWLS: Een prachtig en sfeervol fotoboek van Geert Verbeke rond de thema's klankschalen, tingsha's, Boeddha's, enz. Verder is dit boek vooral genieten en wegdromen in een wereld van stilte, harmonie en uitdeinende klankgolven van zacht aangeslagen oosterse klankschalen. De poes komt ook even piepen...   Dirk d'Hoogpoorte, Gent.

Flandres: un couple créatif. En Norvège: un critique enthousiaste. Un magazine Serbien accueillant.A Pokhara un lecteur Israélien assidu. Le village global dans sa splendeur. Baldo Navarro, Pokhara Nepal.

 

 
 
 

 

All verses, textes, photographs & illustrations appearing on this site are the exclusive intellectual property of Geert Verbeke and are protected under international copyright laws. No textes or images are within Public Domain. To secure reproduction rights to textes or images send an e-mail to Geert Verbeke. He never sell or share your personal info with anyone. Use the mailbox only for mails in connection with this website © 2009.

 

Alle teksten en illustraties van deze wibsite zijn het intellectueel eigendom van Geert Verbeke, ze genieten bescherming van de internationale wetten op het auteursrecht. Publicatie of overname kan slechts na schriftelijke toestemming van de auteur. Naam en bronvermelding volstaan niet.(c) 2009