CThru.com Presents Tony Ward

It was the fall of 1999; I was working on an assignment in Munich, Germany for Penthouse Magazine and was scheduled to produce a shoot for Dutch art director, Onno Klein who was working for Penthouse, Holland at the time. Onno and I met in Munich to produce the shoot, and he brought along a beautiful Dutch model from Amsterdam for me to photograph at my hotel.
During the sitting, Onno kept telling me how much he thought I would love the place of his birth and that I would absolutely fall in love with the Red Light District, and the general openness of the culture in The Netherlands, as the attitudes and atmosphere in Holland at the time catered to creative types like myself. He was very convincing, and shortly after returning to the states, I received an email from him to schedule a production in Amsterdam the next time I returned to Europe.
Onno sent me pictures of a variety of Dutch models to select from, and promised to make them available for shoots upon my arrival to perhaps the most creative, liberal, international city in the world.

On my very first trip to Amsterdam, I decided to photograph a friend of the art director and well-known model by the name of Justine Bakker. Knowing that I was new to the city, Justine volunteered to show me around the beautiful quaint city and introduced me to Frans Verlinden, the owner of the famous Winston Hotel and well-known patron of the arts in Holland. Justine realized that if I met Frans, I would have direct access to many artists who worked in and around the city, including Paul Blanca, Micha Klein, Erwin Olaf, Aldert Mantje and others. Frans and I became best friends and he introduced me to his closest friends, two of them happened to be the producer’s of the grand fetish party called WASTELAND.

Justine Bakker

Frans arranged a meeting for me to meet with Wasteland organizers, Rene Meuessen and Jeroen Oosterhout. They were apparently already familiar with my work and commissioned me to produce a picture for a poster that would symbolize and promote the next Wasteland event. They also invited me to document the event as it occurred twice yearly which resulted in the publication of this monograph a decade later. I was happily introduced to the greatest party on earth.

Rene Meuessen

Jeroen Oosterhout

The book is in memoriam to our dear friend and brother, Frans Verlinden who passed away suddenly and way to soon, in the spring of 2006. It would not have been created if it wasn’t for the assistance and guidance of Frans.Verlinden. We love you Frans, always.

In Memorium

Cover

……….The studio is pleased to announce that TW’s most recent book publication entitled WASTELAND, has been printed in France, and first edition copies are making their way to international book stores in the coming days. Unfortunately do to the volcanic eruption that took place in Iceland on Wednesday April 14th, the scheduled book signing at the April 17th Wasteland party in Amsterdam is canceled. The publisher La Musardine, Paris has made arrangements for a representative of the company to attend the party on TW’s behalf and will continue to make books available for sale at the event.

Josselein Meijs

Josselein Meijs wrote an insightful essay to accompany the publication about the evolution of the party and its participants;
“If you dare to be different… If you are without prejudice… If you love living on the edge… If exploring your wildest fantasies makes you tick… ”

Dutch Beauty

THE ART OF FEASTING
Posted by Mashed Up

What would happen if we human beings were not restricted? The absence of restriction would leave us with complete freedom. However, this freedom would then lose its value. We know what freedom is because we know the definition of a restriction. We appreciate freedom because we know what it feels like to be limited. But when do we feel restricted? For most of us it means that we cannot spend our time in a way we want, and generally speaking we tend to say that we are free in the evenings and weekends as we have obligations such as work during the week.

Club Life

We say things such as: “I am looking forward to the weekend” and “I am free at six”. We are eager to do something nice in the weekend because we think that our free time is valuable. We say for example, “I feel like doing something nice” or “I want to do something nice” and we go and look for it at places that provide us with ” that certain something nice”.

Free At Six

A party is a social gathering for pleasure and amusement. But what actually happens when we enter a well organized party? The music, lights and decoration will immediately appeal to our senses. We see lights, dancers and faces. We hear music and the interior and decoration surrounds us in shape. We arrive here and become a part of a different world and a different context.

Photos By Eric Soenens

……. To learn more about Mashed Up log on to www.mashedup.nl

Catwalk 2

……….To learn more about Martine’s work log on to www.BrandIllustrations.com.

Martine Brand

……….In her youth Martine Brand traveled a lot with her parents, soaking up the rich history of European culture. She was born and raised in Holland and attended fashion school in Den Haag, Antwerpen, Belgium and even a few months in Paris. After developing a strong foundation and love for fashion she returned to her native country and studied painting and illustration at the Art Academy in Amsterdam.

Martine Brand

After her studies, Martine created illustrations for Dutch chlldrens book publisher, Kluitman as well as others, and began exhibiting her work in Amsterdam, Belgium and New York.

Martine Brand

Martine Brand

Martine Brand

She continues to expand her range as an artist by recently enrolling in a 3D animation producer school in Amsterdam, while continuing with her travels.

Martine Brand

Martine Brand

Martine Brand

……….To learn more about Martine’s work log on to www.brandillustrations.com.

Martine Brand

Mashed Up

Posted by Chantal van Duppen

……We started Mashed Up simply because we love to create worlds and bring stories to life. Life would be too boring if we did not have the chance to paint the colors more intense and bright. We are currently teaming up with a photographer, make up artist and an editor to realize our upcoming projects. We see ourselves as story tellers that direct photo shoots. Our ultimate goal is to be art directors for advertising, fashion, lifestyle and music clients. We also have our own view on life that we want to bring forward in our free work.

An image tells an unfinished story. It is up to the viewer to ask himself, what has happened and how the story finishes, because in the end the image will always belong to the viewer, and truth lies within the experience of it. We say that “we design the experience”, and “everyone has their own experience, we design yours”.

Photos by Eric Soenens

In life, we are inspired by contradictions, history, the human ego, sex, violence, instincts, urges and spirituality. In our free work we find the human flaws the most interesting and beautiful subjects to investigate. Faces, attitudes, and postures make us wonder what is hidden beyond the surface. We believe in a system of life which connects people and events tp each other. As different forms of art can be connected to each other, we came up with the name, Mashed Up, which is derived from the term “mash up” (song or composition created by blending two or more songs by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the music track of another).

Duo

As a duo, our interests and backgrounds are interrelated. While Iris has a passion for poetry, narrative literature and dance, Chantal loves photography, film, art and graphic design. This combination makes us work well together. Furthermore, having a commercial background in marketing we have both learned to merge into a business driven environment as well.

Iris And Chantal

www.MashedUp.nl

…..to be continued….

……..I first met Danny Linden on one of my first trips to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Amsterdam is like a little village. There is an interconnectedness with everyone that I’ve met in the most liberal city on the planet. Danny was introduced to me by my close friends, Rene Meuessen and Jeroren Oosterhout, the producers of the Wasteland Party, a fetish extravaganza that I’ve been documenting for the past decade in the fall and spring of each year.

On one of my earliest trips, Rene introduced me to Ms. Linden at The Super Club, a marvelous dinner theater/night club in the heart of the city. Danny and I hit it off right away and became friends. She also has commissioned me to produce a number of catalogue shoots for her famous boutique, Absolute Danny, located at Oudezijds Achterburgwal 78 in the heart of the Red Light District. She is one of the sexiest women in Holland and a dear friend of the studio.
Over the past few years Danny has been busy creating rubber clothing under her own ABSOLUTE DANNY label.

Tony Ward Studio For Absolute Danny

To learn more about Danny Linden, log on to www.absolutedanny.com…………

Absolute Fetish

www.AbsoluteDanny.com

Dutch Beauty

….. The trip to Amsterdam was winding down after several days of continuous shooting. I arranged my schedule so that I could take the last couple of days off to relax with friends before heading back to the states. It just so happened that on my day off, a huge soccer match was being played in town. Everybody was in a good mood in anticipation of the colossal sporting event. If you have never been to Holland during a Champions League match, its like a Major League playoff baseball game in the states, but way more intense. There was a heightened sense of national pride in the atmosphere while most of the country stopped everything they were doing to watch the contest on television.

I decided to return to a sports bar that I had visited on a prior trip, where I could get a good bite to eat, enjoy the match and throw down a few Heineken’s in between the roar of the crowd. I also recalled the last time I visited just a few months earlier, the bartender was gorgeous and my instincts were telling me she would be a welcomed addition to the pages of Penthouse magazine.

As I entered the establishment I was in luck, there she was again. I noticed the pale skin, long blond curly hair through the thick smoke filled atmosphere. The raucous mostly male crowd, hardly seemed to take notice of the native beauty. I meandered towards the bar where she was serving and grabbed the last seat available just as the match began.

After a few moments she approached and immediately recognized me from the last time I visited. This time we exchanged pleasantries and I learned her name, Dagmar Rose.
Dagmar was friendly like most of the Dutch women that I have encountered in the past. I explained to her that I was a photographer and producer for Penthouse America and proceeded to show her a portfolio of sample images on my cell phone. Cellular internet access is a very useful tool for the traveling photographer. She was impressed and agreed to meet me at my hotel for a sitting after work.
After the match, I quickly rushed back to my hotel suite to prepare the room and my equipment for her arrival.
Dagmar’s shapely figure is a result of many years of classical training in dance, her true passion.
I look forward to many more shoots with Dagmar Rose……..TW

Wasteland Book Release Spring 2010

…..Right about now, thousands of Europeans are doing last minute shopping as they prepare their outfits for the twice yearly pilgrimage to Amsterdam, to attend the massive fetish party Wasteland tomorrow night in Amsterdam. Party organizers predict attendance to peak at around 4000 revelers for the well organized event. TW has been documenting the party for the past 10 years and is pleased to announce that he will be publishing a long awaited series of documentary photographs of the extravaganza in the Spring of 2010. For those of you who can make last minute plans to travel to Amsterdam we highly suggest you attend. You will never forget it! Dress code is required……

www.Wasteland.nl