PLASTIK 18

RUUD VAN EMPEL

Interview

Dutch artist Ruud Van Empel creates photographic images that come across as both idealistic and realistic, and yet they really are collages painstalkingly constructed out of thousands and thousands of snapshots. Life has been busy or late for the 54-year-old. In late 2011, his latest book Ruud Van Empel, photo works 1995-2010 was published, while currently the San Diego museum of photographic arts hosts a major retrospective of his work. Plastik talked with Van Empel about his world and work, his views and visions.