KOP

KOP shows people how to look at photography in a different way

The title of the KOP exhibition is ‘Another StreetView’ – a variation on the well-known Google Street View. “The essence of both applications is the same”, explains Dennis Elbers of KOP. “You use technology to produce a photographic representation of the world.”

With Google Street View you drag and drop the little orange man on a specific address when you want to view something. If you want to see the KOP photographs, you have to scan a ‘Quick Response’ (QR) code. These codes look like everyday barcodes, the difference being that they are composed of black and white blocks.

Codes in public spaces
Dennis: “The codes will be displayed at various locations in the town centre. You can scan a code by holding up your smartphone to it. The photo that goes with the code is then displayed on your telephone. You ‘retrieve’ it, as it were. Then you can save it.”
A total of 15 photographers are providing several of their images for this ‘outdoor exhibition’. They include not only Dutch photographers but also international artists. They can select the images themselves. “The images must have a link to the location where the code is displayed”, Dennis explains. “They are not exclusively photos in the traditional sense of the word. They also include virtual landscape photos – images that are used in gaming.”

Jumbling up logical thoughts
Dennis thinks this exhibition fits in extremely well with the TILT theme. “We have another approach to looking at photography. ‘Another StreetView’ combines looking at photography in a museum, in the street and via the Internet. We link modern technology with art; we jumble up people’s logical thoughts. For us, that is an example of TILT.”

Maps of code locations

Can be downloaded from the KOP website www.kop.nu

Also available at the Centre of Visual Arts (Centrum voor Beeldcultuur) en

de Stadsgalerij.