SCHUNCK Museum opens exhibition 'Gluckauf' with Bertien van Manen

Van Manen is known for her documentary photography in which she captures people in their personal environments in an unpolished way. The work shown was taken by Van Manen on her many international trips to mining communities. Characteristically, Van Manen's photography shows interconnections between people and gives space to women's perspectives. Gluckauf is on view until 3 September 2023.

Left and right: Bertien van Manen, from the series 'At the mines', Apanas, Siberia, 1994.

The photography exhibition Gluckauf at SCHUNCK Museum shows a selection of photographs taken in the British mining town of New Sharlston, among other places. Also on display are the photo series 'Moonshine', portraits of American female miners in the Appalachian Mountains in the United States and portraits of miners in Siberia. "Gluckauf" is the greeting with which miners across national borders wished each other a safe return from underground.

Yorkshire and Moonshine

Yorkshire (1979) is Van Manen's first photo series about miners and their families. Instead of a heroic picture of hard miner's life, the series shows portraits of inhabitants of the mining community, hesitantly posing or casually captured during a daily activity. For the Moonshine series (1985-2013), Van Manen travelled to the American Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky and West Virginia, among other places. In this region, women worked alongside their husbands in the mines. Here, Van Manen met Mavis and Junior, with whom she stayed for long periods several times over a period of almost 30 years. Over the years, a warm bond developed between Van Manen, the couple and their family. This produced personal, honest and intimate images. From sneaky wild parties where illegally distilled local whisky - moonshine - flowed copiously, births in the family and quarrels, to everyday domestic scenes.

Left: Bertien van Manen, 'David and his aunt', West Virginia, 1985, right: Bertien van Manen, 'New Sharlston', Yorkshire, 1979.

Most and Siberia

The exhibition Gluckauf also features photographs Bertien took in the town of Most in former Czechoslovakia and in Siberia. The entire town of Most had to make way for the construction of a mine in the 1980s. Shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Bertien travelled to Apanas in Siberia. Here she photographed miners while filmmaker Michael Pilz followed her for his film 'Let's Sit Down Before We Leave' (1995).

Left: Bertien van Manen, 'Bus stop', Apanas, Siberia, 1994, right: Bertien van Manen, 'At the mines', Apanas, Siberia, 1994.

Gluckauf publication

Parallel to the exhibition, the book Gluckauf with photographs by Bertien Van Manen not previously published in book form will be published. Author Marcia Luyten wrote a portrait of Bertien as an accompanying text for this book. The book Gluckauf is published in collaboration with Fw: Books.

About Bertien van Manen

Bertien van Manen (b. The Hague, 1942) began her career as a fashion photographer before travelling the world as an autonomous photographer. Van Manen is considered one of the innovators of documentary photography. All over the world, she photographs people in everyday situations in areas where political and social changes are taking place. Van Manen's fascination with mining communities stems from her childhood. She grew up in Heerlen, former centre of the Eastern Mining Area, where her father worked as an engineer for the State Mines. Bertien was at school with children of miners and felt comfortable in the warm and unpretentious family situations at their homes. A characteristic of Van Manen's work is that she manages to get close to her subject. Instead of travelling up and down to a place, she immerses herself in the local culture and lives with the people whose lives she documents. Van Manen has also photographed in Hungary, China and areas of the former Soviet Union, among others. Her work has been exhibited worldwide in museums including Museum of Modern Art in New York, Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, FOAM Amsterdam, FoMu Antwerp and Fotomuseum Winterthur.

Left: Bertien van Manen, 'Camy', Cumberland, Kentucky, 1996, right: Bertien van Manen, Cumberland, Kentucky, 1996.

Gluckauf

18 April to 3 September
SCHUNCK Glaspaleis
Bongerd 18 in Heerlen
Opening hours: Tue - Sun 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Admission: adults € 8.50, students € 6.80, children free.