Van Abbemuseum

ED VAN DER ELSKEN DOCUMENTS THE PHILIPS NATLAB
part of the collection now
6 February - 30 August 2015

unique photo series of the NatLab in the eighties

In the eighties Dutch photographer Ed van der Elsken (1925-199) produced a unique series of photographs on the physics laboratory in Eindhoven. He was invited by Hans Brink, head PR of the NatLab. Over a hundred original prints show a world of nonconformist scientists creating new technologies.
Van der Elsken had already established a strong reputation as a great street photographer in the 1950s and 1960s.What he recorded with his camera in Eindhoven were not inaccessible scientists but flesh-and-blood researchers and technicians in their natural habitat of test setups, meeting rooms, workplaces, computer prints and chalk boards Working superfast and without using a flash he took surprise photographs of the men and women at NatLab or asked them to sit for him.

Photo selection: Vincent Mentzel

Thanks to: Museum Boerhaave, Leiden
Philips Company Archives, Eindhoven