Following the success of his seven-part series ‘A Flat 6 Love Affair’, photographer Bart Kuykens is back with a new art book: ‘The Essential Love Affair’ brings together the best of his previous publications, forming the ultimate tribute to his great love, the Porsche. We spoke to the Antwerp native shortly after his return from Das Renn Treffen in Miami, a large-scale Porsche event where he exhibited and signed numerous copies of his latest work.
To reduce Bart Kuykens to Porsche photographer would actually be doing him an injustice. Kuykens is a creative entrepreneur through and through, who once launched his own clothing line and still runs a casting agency. Not only do extraordinary cars appear before his lens, but also big names from the film and music industry. Yet he remains best known for his artistic black-and-white books dedicated to the timeless form of the Porsche. The Antwerp native has a few classic models in his garage himself, including a 1971 911. ‘The design and silhouette of that car are iconic,’ he says. ‘So simple, so timeless, even a child recognises it. I find it fascinating that a car from the 1960s or 1970s is still relevant today. But I’m not a pure collector. There is much more to life than cars. That is also the approach of the books. I am not so much concerned with the vehicles themselves. The images show the intimate relationship between the individual and the car, between man and machine. It is about the interplay between those two characters. About people who tell their story through their Porsche.’
Kuykens travelled around the world for seven years to portray owners and their cars, often in mysterious and atmospheric locations. From the little man in the street to celebrated celebrities from home and abroad. From Tom Boonen to Jay Leno, Patrick Dempsey and Paloma Picasso, yes, the daughter of. ‘Getting those famous faces in there is obviously great fun. I’ve built up quite a few connections over the years, but having a star in front of your camera is still something of an honour. Being allowed to photograph these people gives me a feeling of contentment every time.’
Kuykens almost always photographs in black and white. ‘These images are the most beautiful. They are timeless and always remain relevant,’ he says. The result is dark and raw, almost cinematic images. They have a coarse grain, but also exude a certain playfulness and sex appeal. He shoots most of his images with an analogue Leica or medium format Hasselblad. This traditional approach makes him something of an outsider in today’s digital world. “I do take digital photos too, you know,” he explains. ‘For commercial assignments, for example. Because sometimes there is less time and you work faster that way. But for my own work, I always choose analogue. That’s the real craft. “It slows you down”: it has a certain flow that calms me. I also come home with far fewer images than I would with a digital camera. When I photograph analogue, I somehow look more sharply.’
The Essential Love Affair is a “best of” book. The ultimate ode to a subject that has fascinated the photographer for seven years. For that reason, it was time for something different in terms of printing technology. “I chose Buroform because I wanted something completely different from the previous books, in terms of paper, feel, you name it,” explains Bart Kuykens. ‘What’s more, it’s nice to work with a local printer. I live in Hemiksem and can pop in whenever I want. Feeling and smelling the paper, testing it, testing it again, adjusting technical details… Everything was followed up closely, together with your team. I must admit that I’m certainly not the easiest person to work with during such a process, but that interaction has led to a result I’m proud of. Making a book with a team is a process of understanding and trusting each other. It involves discussing, pushing, compromising and reaching a consensus, with the sole aim of delivering a top-quality product. I think we’ve succeeded in that.”
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