Jimmy Nelson at the Balie: connection and finding common ground

Jimmy Nelson at De Balie

Photographer Jimmy Nelson was invited last week to speak at a panel at De Balie. Familiar with his amazing portraits of tribes around the world, I was curious what he had to say. Other persons in the panel were a photojournalist and an anthropologist.

The theme of the evening: the fine balance between art, engagement, commerce.
Jimmy is a passionate advocate of his own work, to say the least. For more than an hour, he was explaining non-stop, pleading, and kneeling on the podium. Sometimes almost crying.

I never saw a photographer talk about his or her work so emotionally.

At the end of his presentation everyone in the room realized: Jimmy is a kind of scarred person (he talked about what happened in his youth), a bit self-centered, but a human guy.
 
Orwa Nyrabia (director of IDFA) stated at one point, ‘your work is a problem' and looked at Jimmy. He captured the essence of the evening in one question:

"does art divide us, or can we find common ground and deeper understanding of each other in it".

Do not judge and connect!


What I take away from this: 

  • it’s easy to judge (work of) others - but after some sincere debate and true attempts of understanding, respect can be the outcome. And that was beautiful to see. Jimmy is not deaf to his critics. He is working on his 3rd photobook: now with more active involvement of the people in the villages that allow him to make his art.

  • Art is no different than everyday life; first you need to listen, than comes understanding, and respect may follow.

  • And one word: connection. There was from the point of the moderator of the evening Way-too-much-intellectual thinking, thinking, thinking, not looking in the eyes. As Henry Thompson (the book: The Stress Effect) would say the moderator of the conversation was  'a head on a stick'. He did not connect.

That was that.

Furthermore, I leave you with four suggestions (curated by Creative Mornings Global):

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Robert de Wilde is a coach and mediator (former attorney in The Netherlands and Dutch Antilles). For info on business coaching, lifecoaching or online coaching programs: send a mail via Contact 

Robert de Wilde