Asked which photograph is his favorite, he replies: “The one of U2 at De Kuip.” Lex van Rossen began photographing pop musicians in 1979 and can be regarded as one of the pioneers of pop photography in the Netherlands.
With a style entirely his own, emphasizing form and composition, he creates dynamic photographs of live concerts, often in black and white. In an interview with Hans den Hartog Jager, then an arts editor at NRC, Van Rossen explains why the photograph of Bono taken during the Joshua Tree Tour is so special to him.
“The photograph gives you a good impression of the concert's atmosphere, even if you were not there. That is exactly what a good pop photograph should do,” Van Rossen says. “It is very rare to fill a frame well with a wide-angle lens, so it was a bit of a risk.
But then he walked forward. It worked.” Van Rossen admits that he edited the photograph's distinctive sky slightly afterward. “That sky had to be there: first, because large white areas are very distracting when they are not the main subject, but especially because the clouds suited the mood so beautifully.”
Van Rossen quickly gained international recognition with the photograph. Prominent publication in renowned outlets such as The New York Times and Rolling Stone in particular caused his career to take off. The ultimate recognition for his work came in January 2005, when he received the eleventh Pop Press Award during Noorderslag. Lex van Rossen died of cancer on February 27, 2007, at the age of 57. Lex van Rossen (1950-2007)
Contribution by Maarten Huisman
