Dutch portrait photographer Kees Tabak is known for his iconic black & white portraits of famous artists. Last Thursday he opened the exhibition ‘Love Multicultural Aruba’ where he exposes 50 portraits of mixed couples. Lovers, parent and child, friends, family ….. All captured within a beautiful black & white portrait where Tabak catches the essence of their emotional bond. The exhibition is now open to the public at our national cultural center Cas di Cultura.
The room was filled with people of all races and cultures during the official opening of ‘Love Multicultural Aruba’. Director of Cas di Cultura Vicky Arens-Tjon A Tjoe and Siegfried Dumfries, director of the Department of Culture welcomed the guests and explained the motivation behind their collaboration with Tabak. Besides the fact that they praise him being a very talented photographer the message of this exposition is to be open to multi-culture which is an important part of Aruba, they said. Tabak himself had done this before in his home-country The Netherlands where he created a series of portraits of mixed couples in Amsterdam. When he visited Aruba he noticed that the island has people of all races, cultures and backgrounds living in harmony. The focus for his work of art should be the love for each other, he decided. His portraits are integer, serious and with a feeling for empathy as he describes in the beautiful booklet that was available for visitors of the opening exposition.
The pictures show people from Aruba, The Netherlands, Curacao, Peru, Colombia, USA, South Africa, Surinam, Belgium, Morocco, Guyana, Germany, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, China, Haiti, Indonesia, France, Guatemala and Brazil.
Tabak started his photography career after finishing the art academy Gerrit Rietveld. He captured many celebrities like Prince, Madonna, Bryan Ferry, Elton John and more in his Amsterdam studio. Tabak distinguished himself with a typical style and purity expressed in his art. The books ‘No More Hero’s’ and ‘Dutch Music’ show highlights of his work.
For more information about the exposition ‘Love Multicultural Aruba’ please check the Facebook page ‘cas di cultura – aruba’s cultural platform since 1958’ or call +297 582 1010.
