Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf spoke at Aperture Gallery and Bookstore in the fall of 2008, on the occasion of the release of his self-titled Aperture monograph.

Inspired by Olaf’s new series “Hotel, Dusk and Dawn,” currently on view at New York photography gallery Hasted Hunt Kraeutler, we went into our video archive full of the many wonderful talks, lectures and conversations with photographers, curators and scholars, that have taken place at Aperture over the years, to bring you this in-depth look into Olaf’s work.

In this edited excerpt Olaf compares the orchestration of his complex shoots and the creation of his images of fantasy, similarly to the work of a film director. In the aftermath of 9/11 Olaf constructed several nostalgic photographic series depicting an”America” in the tradition of artist Norman Rockwell and 1960′s glamour. Olaf used this work to explore several psychological themes that commented on both the past and the present. Olaf also talks about what he values in portraits, describing how he captures intimate and candid images of his models while they are in character.

For the full artist’s talk click here:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Buy Erwin Olaf’s Self-titled Monograph

Check out these two gallery shows opening in New York City this week:

Erwin Olaf: Hotel, Dawn & Dusk

Dusk – Mother by Erwin Olaf
Courtesy of the Hasted Hunt Kraeutler Gallery, New York

A solo show of new work by photographer Erwin Olaf will feature two bodies of work inspired by Olaf’s travels. Dawn & Dusk is a series of dramatic black & white and color photographs contemplating race, history and form, and the simultaneously exhibited series Hotel, a group of images evoking feelings of boredom and loneliness within the sameness of hotel rooms.

Hotel, Dawn & Dusk
Erwin Olaf
January 28- March 20, 2010
Opening reception: January 28, 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Hasted Hunt Kraeutler Gallery
537 West 24th Street
New York, NY, 10011

Also this Thursday, January 28th, a dual exhibition of works by photographers Amy Stein and Brian Ulrich is opening at Caption Gallery in DUMBO, Brooklyn.

The show will include Brian Ulrich‘s Dark Stores, a stark group of landscapes depicting vacant malls and department stores in various states of abandon. The series is part of a body of work showcased in Ulrich’s first monograph Copia, which was published as part of Aperture’s first volume of our ongoing series the Midwest Photographers Publication Project.

Now available from Aperture is a limited edition photograph from Brian Ulrich titled: Chicago, Illinois, 2005, from the series Thrift.

Also exhibited in the exhibition will be photographer Amy Stein’s Stranded, a series of portraits of stranded motorists. Where she describes finding subjects as a matter of chance and every encounter tense because of the unusual circumstances of the interaction and the inherent danger of the roadside environment.

View Erwin Olaf’s Monograph Erwin Olaf

View Aperture’s Midwest Photographers Publication Project