Dutch photographer and film maker Anton Corbijn has received the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund Prize for 2011 for his whole oeuvre. The prize was awarded by Princess Máxima in Amsterdam’s concert hall Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ.
U2 singer Bono, Chris Martin of Coldplay and German singer and actor Herbert Grönemeyer backed by the Metropole Orchestra sang in homage of their friend at the ceremony.
Anton Corbijn (b. 1955) has won the prize for his contribution to culture. The prize carries a sum of 75,000 euros. The photographer says he will use the money to stimulate culture in the city of The Hague where he lives, criticising what he called the government’s 'ostrich policy' towards culture.
The Prince Bernhard Culture Fund described Corbijn as “an international example for photographers, designers and art directors”. It said the photographer had not received the recognition he was due, calling him “an important image maker of the popular culture of his generation”.
Corbijn has made iconic photographs of countless musicians, such as Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, David Bowie, Miles Davis and Herman Brood.
Corbijn was overwhelmed by all the attention. He said: “I always took cautious steps on a dark muddy path, which now appears to have been an easy-to-pass road. But to me it seemed like I was stuck in the mud for some time.”
(nc/hs/imm)
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