Celebrating a love of football that is far from Champions League and big stadiums, Hans van der Meer brings the smell of the soil to our noses with his amazing photography of European amateur football grounds. We spoke with the Dutch artist regarding his book European Fields.
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Do you have a strong relation with football? Or were just attracted to these grounds as an artist?
I have been an amateur football player all my life, I still play with friends on Friday evenings at the age of 59! But I rarely go to stadiums, I am not a fan of one club. I grew up in a village in the countryside, so I am very familiar with these grounds.
What was the initial inspiration that made you travel Europe and finally make this book about amateur football grounds?
I had published already in 1988 a book with archival photographs from the Dutch National Team, from a period 1911-1955. In these days they photographed overviews from the stands, instead of these horrible close-ups that you see today in our newspapers. They tell you nothing about the situation or pitch, also you miss a reference. After my book Dutch Fields was published in 1998, it became well known. I had a lot of exhibitions across Europe and from then on I started to photograph in Europe as well. I had a double spread page every month in a Dutch football magazine, called JOHAN. Also I have been invited since 2001 by photography Institutions and museums to work on assignments in their region. For example The National Museum for Film and Photography in Bradford, in 2004. So at the end of 2005 I had a big archive and we could make a big exhibition that started to tour. (see the biography on my website). Also we could make the European Fields into a book with one of the best photography publishers in the world, Steidl in Germany.
What is the beauty of these grounds for you?
The simplicity of the setting, I always looked for situations 'as far away as possible from the Champions League'. I selected the grounds of these lower leagues games by their backdrops. It would always describe something of the local scenery. There was a lot of location searching, in order to find a pitch where the backdrop was good for this project. I would drive around during the week, with the help of local people, and then come back in the weekend for the games. So in a few weeks I would be able to make a proper exhibition for the museums. With an assistant we always filmed as well, I made five or six football films across Europe that could only be seen at my exhibitions. But now for instance you can buy the film I made in Italy as an app (look for Calciatori della Dominica.) The Bradford film is called Saturday Afternoon - Sunday Morning.
Did you have any interaction with the football players that you were shooting?
Yes, I always would introduce myself to the teams before the game, explained what I was doing. I was often standing on a stepladder, quite unusual. Also the fact that I came from far to their totally unimportant match was exciting for them.
Which was the most attractive ground?
I like England a lot, their playing fields where the ground forms part of the landscape. It comes close to how sports started in the nineteenth century, human being playing in a landscape. But there a beautiful locations everywhere, with unexpected sceneries. You have to be lucky sometimes to find them.
What are you working on recently? Any new projects?I have made a book about football in Antwerp for a museum two years ago, it was never published however. But football as a subject I left behind in 2006, I wanted to travel less as my family needed me more close, we have two daughters growing up. So I did work a lot on subjects related to Dutch landscape and architecture. My last book is called 'The Netherlands off the shelf', published in 2012. You can read about it on my website.
