GalerieEstherWoerdehoff Press Release Michael von Graffenried
Transcription
GalerieEstherWoerdehoff Press Release Michael von Graffenried
Press Release Exhibition: 11.05 – 12.20.2014 Opening Reception: Wednesday, November 5th 2014, from 6 to 9 pm, the artist will be present. Michael von Graffenried Bierfest For this year’s edition ot the Mois de la Photo-OFF, the Galerie Esther Woerdehoff is pleased to present Michael von Graffenried’s new series Bierfest. “What does privacy look like nowadays? Do we find it in the private space, in the closed sphere? Or rather on the internet, especially on the social networks, those mixed areas in between public and private spaces where the invitation is too irresistible to the users to make public, in a continuous flow, their most intimate feelings, the small events of their life, such as visits in museum, meetings, sexual experiences, and any other little facts or states of mind. As soon as we ask this question, the ground seems to shift under our feet. “Where and what is privacy today ?”; this has become a major philosophical and artistic question of our time. And what if that same privacy let itself shown in bright daylight, during events with a long history and tradition, whose apparent repetition was in fact hiding the true revolution of a contemporary privacy that finds its own conscience and well-being only when exposed? With Bierfest, his latest important series, Michael von Graffenried, Swiss photographer based in Paris for the past 25 years and winner of the 2010 Erich Solomon-Preis, the most important German award for photography, decided to address this particular subject. This complete series can soon be discovered in an upcoming book, published by Steidl and also in an exhibition during the Mois-Off de la Photographie, in Paris. The artist book soon to be released by Steidl is not just showing the Oktoberfest in Munich, this beer festival and gatherings under gigantic tents created in 1810 by the Bavarian monarchy to mobilize the population against Napoleon’s France, held for two weeks every year, before the first Sunday in October and considered today as the largest alcohol consuming celebration in the world. In nowadays Germany to state that the artist worked on the famous Oktoberfest in Munich would be too controversial and lead to polemics. Michael von Graffenried went there in 2010 and 2011 as a casual visitor although he had the support of an artist residency program by the city of Munich. While working with a middle format panoramic camera and films, same as in his previous impressive series on the civil war in Algeria - “the only way to take a sincere photograph” according to him, Michael was the opposite of an invisible photographer keeping his distance behind a telephoto lens. The panoramic camera requires - and allows -, to get as close as possible to the people photographed. Michael von Graffenried takes his photographs at about one meter from his subjects without looking trough the viewfinder and composes his image thanks to his sole experience; the camera resting on his chest “becomes one with the photographer’s body”, according to Hans Ulrich Obrist. If you are only one meter away from a person, a couple or a group to take a photograph, you have already entered his or her personal space. This constitutes the first important dimension of Michael von Graffenried’s new work. He is the first to show us the Oktoberfest in GalerieEstherWoerdehoff 36 rue Falguière 75015 Paris - France Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50 mar. - sam. 14h - 18h www.ewgalerie.com [email protected] For any inquiries, please contact Sabine Guédamour by email at [email protected] or by phone at +33 9 51 51 24 50 1 GalerieEstherWoerdehoff Munich, this international celebration of intimacy without censorship but with equal consideration for everyone. On a second level, Michael von Graffenried offers us a unique and stunning insight on a freed privacy which now exist among individuals and groups, like the ones we can meet at this beer festival in Munich, now an international meeting for “recomposed privacies” (like recomposed families). Through fifty images, the photographer gives us an unforgettable reflection on this meeting place, apparently opened and visible but in fact segmented and subject to certain codes in order to get in. This only reminds us of the international gay prides photographs also by Michael von Graffenried, which will remain anthology images of our time. Finally, when we look at this series of photos, we can see through the eyes of many individuals seeking privacy in the crowd, or who tried to find it, or experienced a great disappointment, a terrible evening. Every time, we get a little closer to their privacy without the photographer taking advantage of it. Often, this privacy is experienced only when exposed. Michael von Graffenried’s new series, Bierfest, can make you happy and sad at the same time. If humanity can sink so low, it can also elevate itself like, for instance, through the pictorial achievement in this series which celebrates all its “characters”. Text by Robert Fleck, Art critic, Art and Public Space Professor, vice-director of the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf. (translated from French) Exhibition catalogue to be published by Steidl : Bierfest 112 pages, 29,5 x 24 cm ISBN : 978-3-86930-680-3 GalerieEstherWoerdehoff 36 rue Falguière 75015 Paris - France Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50 mar. - sam. 14h - 18h www.ewgalerie.com [email protected] 2 GalerieEstherWoerdehoff Press Images Michael von Graffenried, Bierfest, 2011 Lambda print, 124,5 x 284,5 cm, Edition of 3 Michael von Graffenried, Bierfest, 2010-2011 Lambda print, 124,5 x 284,5 cm, Edition of 3 GalerieEstherWoerdehoff 36 rue Falguière 75015 Paris - France Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50 mar. - sam. 14h - 18h www.ewgalerie.com [email protected] The use of images is exclusively reserved for promotion of the exhibition and valid up to three months after the end date of the exhibition. Obligatory mention: © Michael von Graffenried, Courtesy Galerie Esther Woerdehoff GalerieEstherWoerdehoff 3 Biography Artist Michael von Graffenried Born in Bern, Switzerland in 1957, Michael von Graffenried lives and works between Paris, New York City and Switzerland. Self-taught, he takes his first photographs in the 1970’s and starts to travel the world and to work as photojournalist for numerous publications. In 1991, he goes to Algeria to follow the free elections; this is the beginning of a long series of trips in this country - from the civil war in the 90’s to 2000. This photographic work, created with a panoramic camera (a very specific format and technic which has become his signature) was followed in 2000 by a documentary film War without Images - Algeria, I know that you know, co-directed with Mohammed Soudani which was first screened at the Locarno film festival in 2002. Internationally published and exhibited, his photographs can be found in the most important art collections. He has published many books including Sudan, a forgotten war (Benteli 1995), Naked in Paradise (Dewi Lewis 1996), Inside Algeria (Aperture 1998), Cocainelove (Benteli 2005), Eye on Africa (2009) and Bierfest (2014, Steidl). Michael von Graffenried was given the title of Chevalier des Arts et Lettres of the French Légion d’Honneur in 2006, and in 2010, he is the third Swiss photographer to obtain the Dr. Erich Salomon Prize of the German Society of Photography, after René Burri and Robert Frank. That same year, the Maison européenne de la photographie in Paris organized for him a retrospective exhibition. While always trying to take a sharp and unique look at the world, he has recently shifted to a more conceptual approach to photography and is now involved in several artistic and media projects. Solo exhibitions 2012 On the Edge, Varanasi, India Shoreditch Stories, London Inside Cairo, Parker’s Box, New York 35 mm Film, Leica Gallery, New York 2010 Eye on Africa, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris Outing, Retrospective, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris 2009 Eye on Africa, Paul Klee Zentrum, Bern, Switzerland 2008 photographies d’une guerre sans images, Hangar - UMAM, Beirut, Lebanon 2007 Our Town, Musée du Kornhausforum Bern, Switzerland Panoramas 1997-2007, Galerie Bernhard Bischoff & Partners, Bern, Switzerland Inside Cairo, Sur le toit d’un immeuble du Downtown au Caire, photography installation, Egypt 2006 Graffenried à la page, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Mois de la Photo à Paris New Bern, Bank of the Arts, North Carolina, United States 2005 Rosanna, Astrid, Peter und die andern, Landesmuseum Zürich, Switzerland Rosanna, Astrid, Pierre et les autres, Musée national Château de Prangins, Switzerland GalerieEstherWoerdehoff 36 rue Falguière 75015 Paris - France 2004 Rosanna, Astrid, Pierre et les autres, Kornhausforum Bern, Bern, Switzerland Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50 mar. - sam. 14h - 18h www.ewgalerie.com [email protected] 4 GalerieEstherWoerdehoff 2003 Michael von Graffenried - Panorama du monde, Library of the city of Bordeaux, France Kunstmuseum Bern (Museum of Fine Arts), Bern, Switzerland 2002 Helveticum 02, Musée d’art et d’histoire, Neuchâtel, Switzerland Algérie, photographies d’une guerre sans images, Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich photographies panoramiques, Galerie O, Schaffhouse, Switzerland 2000 Algérie, photographies d’une guerre sans images, National Library El Hamma, Algiers Du Jura au vaste monde parcours d’un photographe, Ferme-Asile, Sion, Switzerland Paris une comédie humaine, Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris Panorama del mundo, Autumno fotografico (Biennial), Sala Diego Chiesa, Chiasso, Switzerland 1999 Weltpanorama, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland Weltpanorama, Galerie Arlecchino, Lucerne, Switzerland Jura, visages d’une jeune république hors image, St Ursanne cloister, Switzerland Algérie, photographies d’une guerre sans images, Usine à chaux, St Ursanne, Switzerland 1998 Soudan, L’abbaye de l’Epau, Le Mans, France Algérie, Centre National et Musée Jean Jaurés, Castres, France Algérie, photographies d’une guerre sans images, Mois de la Photo, Pavillon Delouvrier, Parc de la Villette, Paris 1997 Naked in Paradise, Witkin Gallery, New York Soudan, Fnac, Troyes, France Galerie Scalo, Zurich, Switzerland Soudan, Fnac Avignon, France Galerie Kabinett, Bern, Switzerland Museum Zündorfer Wehrturm, Cologne, Germany Galerie Agathe Gaillard, Paris Museu Nogueira da Silva, Braga, Portugal (encontros da imagem, mai de la Photo) Nu au Paradis, Montpellier Photovision, Montpellier, France Soudan, Fnac, Saint-Étienne, France Nu au Paradis, Galerie Focale, Nyon, Switzerland 1996 Soudan, Fnac Lyon-Part-Dieu, France Soudan, Fnac Versailles Parly II, France Soudan, Fnac Rennes, France GalerieEstherWoerdehoff 36 rue Falguière 75015 Paris - France 1995 Algerien zwischen Demokratie und Gottesstaat, Völkerkunde-Sammlung, Lübeck, Germany Un photographe au coeur de l’Algérie d’aujourd’hui, Arche de la Défense, Paris Soudan, Gruner & Jahr, Hamburg, Germany Soudan, Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland Soudan, Kornschütte, Lucerne, Switzerland Algérie. Le rêve brisé de la démocratie, Archives départementales, Montpellier, France Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50 mar. - sam. 14h - 18h www.ewgalerie.com [email protected] 5 GalerieEstherWoerdehoff Soudan, Fnac Cnit La Défense, Paris Algérie. Le rêve brisé de la démocratie, Maison de la Culture, Amiens, France Algérie. Le rêve brisé de la démocratie, Centre des glacis, Belfort, France Algérie, Sénat, Paris 1994 Hong-Kong Arts Center, Hong Kong 1993 Saint-Gervais Photographie, Geneva, Switzerland 1991 Centre Saint-Gervais, Geneva, Switzerland Swiss Institute, New York Zappeion, Athens Visa pour l’image, Perpignan, France Palais de la Culture, Algiers Witkin Gallery, New York 1990 Centre Culturel Suisse (Portes Suisse) dans le cadre du Mois de la Photo, Paris 1989 Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland 1988 Cenre Culturel Suisse, Paris 1987 Photoforum Pasquart, Bienne, Switzerland & Galerie Schauspielhaus, Nuremberg, Germany 1985 Galerie Nikon, Zurich, Switzerland Casino de Montbenon, Lausanne, Switzerland 1984 Galerie de la Treille, Sion, Switzerland Group exhibitions 2014 Drive In (en collaboration avec la Galerie Esther Woerdehoff), Galerija Fotografija, Ljubljana, Slovenia 2006 En français sous l’image, Espace Electra, Paris 2002 Big is beautiful, Musée d’art et d’histoire, Neuchâtel, Switzerland 2000 La grande illusion, Musée d’art et d’histoire, Neuchâtel, Switzerland 1999 Afriques, Musée de la photographie, Charleroi, Belgium GalerieEstherWoerdehoff 36 rue Falguière 75015 Paris - France Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50 mar. - sam. 14h - 18h www.ewgalerie.com [email protected] 6 GalerieEstherWoerdehoff 1998 Le sport, Galerie du Château d’Eau, Toulouse, France Summer group show, Witkin Gallery, New York 1997 Weltenblicke - Reportagefotografie und ihre Medien, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland 1996 Ein Fenster zur Schweiz, Kiev, Ukraine 1995 Magic moments Leica, travelling exhibition, Germany, France, USA 1993 Havana (Cuba), Miami, Atlanta (USA) A la recherche du père, Espace Photographique de Paris, Paris La Slovénie au quotidien, Bank of Slovénia, Ljubljana, Slovénia La Syrie au quotidien, Institut du monde arabe, Paris 1989 World Press Photo 1989 - travelling exhibition 1988 Photos d’artistes soviétiques en Perestroïka, Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, Switzerland 1986 Photokina, Cologne, Germany 1984 Berner Photogalerie, with René Burri Portraits d’artistes, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Berner Galerie, Bern, Switzerland Palais des arts, Paris Awards and grants 2010 Dr. Erich Salomon Prize of the German Society of Photography 2006 Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, Ministère de la Culture, France 1989 Prix World Press Photo 1987 et 1985 Federal grant for applied arts, Kornhaus, Bern Collections Fotostiftung Schweiz (Swiss Foundation for Photography), Winterthur, Switzerland Kunstmuseum Bern (Museum of Fine Arts), Bern Collection Charles-Henri Favrod, Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne Fondation World Press Photo Holland, Amsterdam Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris GalerieEstherWoerdehoff 36 rue Falguière 75015 Paris - France Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50 mar. - sam. 14h - 18h www.ewgalerie.com [email protected] 7 GalerieEstherWoerdehoff Films and books 2014 Bierfest, Steidl 2012 35mm - El Gran Teatro del Mondo, Benteli Verlag, Bern (EN, DE) 2010 Michael von Graffenried, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Maison Européenne de la Photographie (EN, FR, DE) 2009 Eye on Africa, Schwabe Verlag (EN, FR, DE, IT) 2005 Cocainelove, Benteli Publishers (EN, FR, DE, IT) Risk, Contact Netz Nerg 2003 Journal d’Algérie, 1991-2001, éditions Autrement, Paris Im Herzen Algeriens, Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Benteli Verlag, Bern 2002 Swisspanorama, mvgphoto.com, Paris Im Herzen Algeriens, Museum für Gestaltung Zurich and Benteli Verlag 2001 War without Images, feature movie, 35mm, 90‘ 1998 Freie Sicht aufs Bundeshaus, Benteli Verlag, Bern, Der Festakt, 150 Jahre CH Inside Algeria, Aperture, New York (EN) Algérie, photographies d’une guerre sans images, éditions Hazan, Paris (FR) Algerien, der unheimliche Krieg, Benteli Verlag (DE) Weltpanorama, Weltwoche-ABC Verlag, Zurich (DE) 1997 Nu au Paradis, éditions Falguière - Inter art Paris (FR) Nackt im Paradies, Benteli Verlag, Bern (DE) Naked in Paradise, Dewi Lewis Publishing, Stockport, England (EN) 1995 Soudan, Benteli Verlag, Bern and éditions Falguière - Inter art Paris 1993 Algérie. Le rêve brisé de la démocratie / Algerien, der Traum von der Demokratie, Benteli Publishers, Bern 1991 Swiss People, Photo Poche, Jean Genoud, Lausanne 1989 Mich trifft keine Schuld, Ringier Verlag Bern and Tribune éditions, Geneva 1987 Liebe zu Kaufen, Stemmle, Schaffhouse GalerieEstherWoerdehoff 36 rue Falguière 75015 Paris - France 1986 Der Blaue Berg, Literatur in der Schweiz, Der Blaue Berg Verlag, Bern Tel : +33 09 51 51 24 50 mar. - sam. 14h - 18h www.ewgalerie.com [email protected] 8 GalerieEstherWoerdehoff