I visited the FOAM for the first time this trip to Amsterdam to see the exhibit Don McCullin – Or the Business of Being Human. This retrospective covers four decades of photography by Don McCullin, a British documentary photographer noted for his stark, raw images of war, famine and death. The locales go from Ethiopia to Berlin, 1961 for the construction of the Berlin Wall, to wars in Cyprus, Vietnam and Cambodia.
These are not "pretty" pictures: you don’t view this exhibit and admire his use of light, or comment on the photographer’s perspective. Rather, these are disturbing images, which drag the viewer into a refugee camp in the 1968 Biafra war of succession; they pull you into the hut of a dying AIDS patient in Zambia. His photographs of the construction of the Berlin Wall are amazing; you feel as though you are part of the crowd of on-lookers. It is not possible to come away from this exhibit profoundly disturbed. As McCullin himself says, "I have been criticised for forcing horrors into the view of complacent people."
Born in 1935 in London, McCullin grew up in poverty. In 1965, he won the World Press Photo Foundation Picture of the Year award for his Cyprus images. McCullin’s AIDS photographs were presented simultaneously in 2001 at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London and at the United Nations. As a rest from photographing wars, McCullin decided to photograph society in his native Britain. In 1978 he did an essay on poverty in the English city of Bradford. The retrospective remains on display until December 8, 2002.
Also on exhibit at FOAM are young photographers’ works for the Joop Swart Master class 2002. There are 12 picture essays by the participants; all created based on the theme of faith.
The museum is in a primary residential area, just off Vijzelgracht. The decor is very modern, with white walls and metal stairs and pipes. There is a rack for coats downstairs. Just inside the main entrance, there is a small space where postcards, cards, books and other items are for sale. You’ll find a small cafe downstairs where light refreshments are served. Literature on the museum and on its exhibits is available in several languages. The museum is open daily, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM; the admission is 3.50 Euro. To reach the museum, take tram 16, 24 or 25 from Centraal Station; get off at Keizergracht stop. For further information, call (0)20 551 6500 or check out www.foam.nl on the web.