photographic portrait of a landscape : new dimensions in landscape philosphy

the term 'landscape' lends itself to countless associations and expectations: there is no single, clear-cut definition of landscape. That's what makes landscape such a good starting point for philosophical questions about the dynamics of cultural centres, the views of institutions and the evolution of culture in a natural environment.

Who actually owned the land? Who created the landscape? Who determined the cultural rhythm? Who laid claim to the soil? This book unravels these questions and more.

A Photographic Portrait of a Landscape is a micro study that explores cultural centres and land ownership. The expansion of the European Union has been accompanied by a growing interest in national identity, which uses landscape as a projection screen for envisaged expectations. The theories of Ton Lemaire (Filosofie van het landschap,1970) and the post-colonial approach to culture of Homi K. Bhabha (The Location of Culture, 1994) are our guides on a journey through a landscape in the north of the Netherlands.