Peter van Stralen studied to become a graphic designer at the Academy of Arts in Arnhem, The Netherlands. During this study, his interest in photography was awakened. Since then he has been working as an autonomous artist/photographer, whose non-commercial activities have mainly been focussed on staged black-and-white photography. Apart from this, he is also active as a photographer in the field of art and culture in general.
Motivation and Style
Peter likes to describe himself as a ‘two-dimensional sculptor’ who works in between photography and Big Art. He enjoys working with professional female dancers because they can combine strength with grace in a natural way.
His style has been shaped by his background as a graphic designer: It is rather simple and straightforward. That is why he also played with the female body shapes in a simple way: To him, “less” often means “more” and in this sense he can be considered as a minimalist.
Both form and composition play an important role in his work, and since, in his opinion, color often detracts from the essence of an image, he prefers black and white images.
In order to avoid fashionable or contemporary influences, he consciously created his pictures in an almost timeless and space-free environment. In addition, since these dancers act as interpreters, he tried to avoid identifying the person behind the figure in the photo, thereby drawing the viewer’s attention entirely to the shape of the image.
In this series “ODD BODIES” he emphasizes the topic of alienation by photographing the female body from a different perspective, in which women are no longer just familiar and sensual, but also pleasantly strange and fascinatingly diverse. He tries to show the female body in such a way that one wonders again about seemingly ordinary shapes. Therefore, this series of photos is a reflection of his admiration for these women.
Technical data
He is currently working with a Nikon D3x DSLR camera, a 24 – 70mm 1:2.8 G ED Nikkor zoom lens and an 85mm 1:1.4 G Nikkor AF-S prime lens.
All photographs were taken in his studio using Bowens Esprit 1000 flash equipment.
Prints produced by an Epson Sure Color p800 A2 printer