From Geert to Hanne: printing photos at Noorderlicht
The process of printing a photograph is an art in itself. A profession that Geert Kliphuis has excelled in from the outset at Noorderlicht. Geert retired last December, and we didn’t want this to go unnoticed. Likewise, this is also a great opportunity to introduce Hanne van der Velde, but more on that later.
During his two decades at Noorderlicht, Geert was responsible for printing photos in the PrintLab for all the exhibitions in the studio and elsewhere. And there were quite a few of them. Geert came to Noorderlicht through a job transfer scheme organised by the municipality of Groningen. After completing a web design course and job training, he took on a placement at Noorderlicht in the USVA building on the Munnekeholm in May 2002.
At that time, nothing was digital and all photographic work had to be scanned. As such, crates of material were delivered to us by the photographers themselves. It was only after moving to our current office that a real printing room was set up, complete with a much better range and quality of paper. Print work really commenced in 2006 with the exhibition Katrina – An Unnatural Disaster, on one of worst hurricanes in the United States’ history. Photographer Kadir van Lohuizen had taken pictures in New Orleans and Biloxi in the months after the disaster. The photographs for our first exhibition were produced with a small printer, the Epson 4000.
It is thanks to Geert’s enormous efforts – who followed the development from analogue to digital with close interest – that Noorderlicht is now the proud owner of a fully-certified PrintLab in 2023!
And now, with a pleasant and established professional environment in which all exhibitions are produced in-house, it is time for Hanne to take over. Hanne has worked at Noorderlicht for twelve years, and as of this year he will be responsible for printing. He will furthermore ensure that our PrintLab is open to fellow institutions.
We are delighted that Hanne is overseeing this department, and in the meantime our production employee Monika Balu is also being trained in the art of printing.
