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de Nooijer, Paul

Dutch, b. 1943

BiographyThe special connection between Paul de Nooijer’s films and his photographs is aptly demonstrated by the four-minute 16mm film Transformation by Holding Time and the arrangement of Polaroids produced during and documented by the film that stand as a framed piece. In the film, we watch from the side as a photographer takes a series of fifteen pictures of the motionless woman before the camera, posting the still-developing Polaroids after each shot until they completely obscure the movie camera’s lens. The process underscores de Nooijer’s longstanding interest in perception and framework, and the sharp teals and faded greens of the final pictures represent his tendency to use unrealistic color in the creation of his work. The work also suggests de Nooijer’s characteristic surrealist touches, not to mention his penchant for Polaroid film. Produced with the assistance of his wife, Françoise de Nooijer, and featuring music by his brother, Jan de Nooijer, the film won Mention Spécial du Jury at the Festival International du Jeune Cinema Hyeres, France (1978) and the Hauptpreis of Westdeutsche Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Germany (1979).

Paul de Nooijer was born in Eindhoven, Netherlands in 1943. From 1960 to 1965 he attended Akademie voor Industrile Vormgeving in that same town, a city which would also later host one of his first solo exhibitions (at the Van Abbemuseum in 1977). His films have earned honors around the world, including first prize at the AnimExpo, Seoul, Korea; the 5th International Animation Film Festival, Hiroshima, Japan; and the Long Island Filmfestival, New York. His work is represented in the collections of such institutions as Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, Yokohama, Japan; and the California Arts Institute, Valencia. He is currently involved primarily in film and performance, and has long worked in collaboration with his son, Menno de Nooijer.