Surf Tribe. Dieser Artikel ist nicht verfügbar.Surf Tribe

Deutscher Text weiter unten. In Surf Tribe, photographer Stephan Vanfleteren shows that there is far more to surf culture than just competitive sport. Surfing is also about a deep respect for the ocean, as well as that moment of insignificance surfers feel when confronted with the forces of nature. It’s about battles won and lost, both with other surfers and with themselves. Vanfleteren looks beyond the traditional surf spots of California and Hawaii and searches the globe for people who live in places where sea and land meet. He documents a fluid community, which has nature as its one and only leader. He pictures talented youngsters as well as living icons and revered legends, competition surfers as well as free surfers. In this book there are no action shots on azure blue waves; instead, you’ll find serene black and white portraits in Vanfleteren’s well-known, haunting style. He reveals the real person behind the surfer, in all his or her strength and vulnerability. This series of images penetrates to the true heart of surf culture: the love for the water, the addiction to the waves, the passion for the surf. With more than 300 portraits of, among others, Kelly Slater, Gerry Lopez, John John Florence, Laird Hamilton, Bethany Hamilton, Greg Noll, Stephanie Gilmore, Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Mickey Munoz, Filipe Toledo and Tom Carroll. With a preface by surf legend Gerry Lopez. In Surf Tribe zeigt der Fotograf Stephan Vanfleteren, dass die Surfkultur weit mehr ist als nur Wettkampfsport. Beim Surfen geht es auch um einen tiefen Respekt vor dem Ozean und um das Gefühl der Bedeutungslosigkeit, das Surfer empfinden, wenn sie mit den Kräften der Natur konfrontiert werden. Es geht um gewonnene und verlorene Kämpfe, sowohl mit anderen Surfern als auch mit sich selbst. Vanfleteren blickt über die traditionellen Surfspots Kaliforniens und Hawaiis hinaus und sucht weltweit nach Menschen, die an Orten leben, an denen Meer und Land aufeinandertreffen. Er dokumentiert eine fluide Gemeinschaft, deren einziger Regent die Natur ist. Er porträtiert talentierte Jugendliche ebenso wie lebende Ikonen und verehrte Legenden, Wettkampfsurfer ebenso wie Freesurfer. In diesem Buch gibt es keine Action-Aufnahmen auf azurblauen Wellen, sondern ruhige Schwarz-Weiß-Porträts in Vanfleterens bekanntem, eindringlichem Stil. Er offenbart die reale Person hinter dem Surfer, mit all ihrer Stärke und Verletzlichkeit. Diese Bilderserie dringt zum wahren Kern der Surfkultur vor: die Liebe zum Wasser, die Sucht nach den Wellen, die Leidenschaft für das Surfen. Mit mehr als 300 Porträts von unter anderem Kelly Slater, Gerry Lopez, John John Florence, Laird Hamilton, Bethany Hamilton, Greg Noll, Stephanie Gilmore, Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Mickey Munoz, Filipe Toledo und Tom Carroll. Mit einem Vorwort der Surflegende Gerry Lopez.

Stephan Vanfleteren (°1969) is one of Belgium’s most renowned photographers. Among the general public, he is mainly celebrated for his penetrating black and white portraits of famous and anonymous people. However, his oeuvre is much more diverse than that. Starting his career as a press photographer, Vanfleteren made captivating photo reports about the events that dominated the news. Later on, he began to elaborate a variation of themes in extended photo reportages, going from storefront façades to a journey along the mythical Atlantic Wall. For his most recent work, Vanfleteren withdrew into his studio to focus on his own version of classic themes such as nude portraits and still life photography. In the latter, entitled Nature Morte, he portrayed in color dead animals that he found near his home. Where most of his images are very time phased, this series marks an evolution in Vanfleteren’s work towards a more timeless approach and subject matter.

Whether it concerns his journalistic, documentary or artistic photographic projects. Vanfleteren always remains true to his characteristic style and esthetic. A pallet of black and whites, the use of sharp contrasts and well-defined details is the trademark that he developed throughout the years. Also, his recent color work shows his impressibility, combined with his craftsmanship, his involvement with the subject which can be landscape, still life, portrait or nude. His expansive personal stories and reflections of encounters are mesmerizing excursions of a photographer who feels as much a witness as an accomplice. A melancholic soul hides in the sensitive photographer.

Stephan Vanfleteren received in August 2021 a Doctor Honoris Causa from the VUB - Brussels University, Belgium. His latest project is ’Transcripts of a Sea’, on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent, Belgium until 2026.