Olivier Culmann The Others
Transcription
Olivier Culmann The Others
Olivier Culmann The Others October 17 th 2015 ... January 17 th 2016 Opening Friday October 16 th / 7 pm Erwin Blumenfeld de Vogue US, 1er janvier 1951 © The Estate of Erwin Blumenfeld, collection This exhibition was co-produced with Tendance Floue and Central DUPON Images. With support from Canson, Olympus France, Ministère de la Culture / Drac Bourgogne, Société des Amis du musée Nicéphore Niépce, La Souris sur le gâteau and the Hôtel St Georges in Chalon-sur-Saône. Olivier Culmann The Others All of the photographs Olivier Culmann presents us The Others is an examination of the codes for this exhibition were printed with a strange portrait gallery. of Indian society and their modes The Indian man appears in many forms of representation. The photographer’s before our eyes without ever revealing basic material is a series of self-portraits. his true identity… In each one, Olivier Culmann applies A tie-in book is available Olivier Culmann began to shoot the visual and sartorial specifics from Editions Xavier Barral. this series between 2009 and 2011, that define each Indian to himself. when he was living in Delhi, and kept In a society as compartmentalised as in his exhibition shooting up until 2013. The Others India’s, he means to highlight the variety Saturday October 17 / 3:30 pm will be presented in full for the first of elements that make up the identity time at the Musée Nicéphore Niépce. of an individual: religion, caste, class, In a series that includes over profession, geographical origin… on Canson gloss 310 g premium paper in the laboratory at the Musée Nicéphore Niépce. Meeting with Olivier Culmann 130 photographs, the photographer questions the way in which social The portraits are split in four phases, status is elaborated through according to the different iconographic the construction of self-image creative processes in India: neighbourhood and explores the limits of the photo- photography studios, Photoshop used graphic medium. by digital labs, painting… [ See the descriptions of the photo series in the attached file ] Olivier Culmann The Others Éditions Xavier Barral Bound and covered 21.5 x 26.3 cm 196 pages Approx. 140 colour photographs Texts : Christopher Pinney, lecturer in anthropology and visual culture at London’s University College, François Cheval, Director of the Musée Nicéphore Niépce and Christian Caujolle, Associate Lecturer at the École Nationale Supérieure Louis Lumière, critic, independent curator. Olivier Culmann The Others Extracts: Clothing oneself is no longer a functional necessity for humans, and has not been since time immemorial. The act of clothing oneself has transmuted into a game ruled by social convention. Appearance decides, even configures the real. The fictional lives that follow one another in the New Delhi studio are no more illusory than the “real” pseudo-images that come before. Faced with these decorated scenes, the only “incontestable”’ objects, we rediscover the consistency of likelihood. By playing with pretending, the photographer exhumes the weight of destiny that covers us. The shapes, colours and textures are all signals we address to our peers; the ones we want to stand out from! Faced with the inevitable, we put on the rags and adopt the attitude that others have determined for us. Each photograph, or more to the point, each scene, is an event that is both derisory and perfectly apt. The portraits compose a collection of short stories. They do not pretend to reduce the different components of the Indian population to farce, but merely to reflect the spirit of the times. In the harsh light of the studio, these reconstituted lives rise above a reality that is never recognisable and is always unintelligible. In the knowledge that we are aware of the state of the world, rather than giving us the same photographic narrative on the Indian sub-continent, Olivier Culmann gives us his fugitive singularity and autonomy. The particular impressions. Freed from the weight attention given to one’s appearance of the past, his portrait-prototypes are is aided and abetted by technology. notations, better, as narratives. Digital identity is built in communication The various elements of the image are spaces where individuals contemplate clues to interpret and to bring themselves in a narcissistic manner the spectator closer to others in the hopes from a closed-off space. The connection that they will end up with a fabric to others remains a never to be satisfied of hypotheses at their disposal. quest. And photography, despite its The apparently unrelated objects, immense ambition, can’t do a thing the poses and situations form a logical about it. chain to be reconstituted. […] […] What we present to others is an ideal of the fantasised figure, the seal of identity. However, here, identification is inseparable from dissimulation. The figure’s make-up and poses redefine the character’s visibility levels. The subject, or the person, is in no way a “natural” being. In this constant swing from the norm and the search for one’s own identity, the person attempts to constitute him or herself into a coherent unity. This demand for originality pushes them to contemplate their own reflection. The mirror becomes his digital print. They search ceaselessly for faults, as if trying to spot the deliberate mistake. Anxiety reigns in this surreal world. One hunts down the imperfections that go against the self-image they desire so deeply. This concern for appearances, deliberately encouraged by merchandise, is at odds with self-awareness, François Cheval Olivier Culmann / biography Social conditioning and free will are 2008 intrinsic to Olivier Culmann’s work. The “Les Mondes de l’école” series Located somewhere between the absurd is shown at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. and the derisory, his work puts 3 rd World Press Photo prize the question of our everyday lives for his “Watching TV” series and our relationship with images under ( “contemporary subjects” category ) a microscope. He always comes back to his obsessions – and ours –, winning 2011 us over with his sense of humour Watching TV, published and his talent for narrative. by Éditions Textuel “Watchers” show at the Pavillon Carré de Baudouin in Paris 1993 – 1999 In collaboration with Mat Jacob, 2014 his Les Mondes de l’école project was The Others and Diversions series awarded the Villa Médicis Hors Les Murs shown at the Festival Images in Vevey, in 1997 Switzerland 2001 2015 Les Mondes de l’école, published The Others series is shown by Éditions Marval at the Musée Nicéphore Niépce Une vie de poulet, published in Chalon-sur-Saône by editions Filigranes The Others, published by Editions Xavier Barral 2003 Scam Roger Pic award for “Autour, New York 2001– 2002” series 2004 Intouchables, published by Editions Atlantica 2006 His “Watching TV” series was presented at the Rencontres internationales de la photographie d’Arles All reproductions must state : © Olivier Culmann / Tendance Floue Available visuals / Phase 1 : portraits taken in a photography studio The studios represented in these shots are neighbourhood studios in different Indian cities, notably in Delhi and the surrounding regions, Chennai, Pondicherry and Mumbai. Phase 2 : portraits using digital equipment In the neighbourhood studios, a range of backdrops is often available: a patterned curtain, a photographic mural or a landscape painted on the wall itself. When a client comes to have his or her photograph taken, they can also borrow various items of clothing ( jackets, shirts, ties…) for the duration of the shoot. With the advent of digital technology, backdrops are easily created on the computer. The client, whose silhouette is cut out in advance, can thus choose the backdrop ( reconstituted studio backdrop, Swiss mountain scape, Taj Mahal…) in front of which he or she wishes to be pictured. Photographers also offer the option of the already well-dressed and well-presented headless body, on to which the client’s head can be attached and slid into place by the retoucher/ photographer. Faceless bodies are also available (hair and ears are part of the package), as are various types of headgear (hats, berets, turbans…), hairstyles, various accessories (armchairs, couches, bouquets of flowers…) and frames with motifs. The phase 2 portraits blend this digital material with the faces on the initial portraits. Phase 3 : recomposing and colouring damaged photographs Repairing family photographs that have been damaged (by time, damp, ripping…) is common practice in India. It is often done when someone dies to restore an emblematic photograph of the deceased. The photo is usually seen on the wall at home or in the family business. It is a guarantee of filiation and its symbolic meaning seems more important than the actual faithful reproduction of the ancestor’s physical traits. In line with this practice, Olivier Culmann gave various digital retouching labs half a torn photo. He then asked them to reconstitute the face entirely and to colour the photo as they saw fit. Some added backdrops. Phase 4 : paintings from photographs Painting on photographs is common in India, especially for shop signs and more traditionally for film posters. Using this skill set as a base, Olivier Culmann gave a Delhi painter a number of black and white photographs and asked him to paint them in different styles (mostly from film poster types). Just like with the repair work, he let the painter choose the backdrops and the colours. The original paintings will be on show in the exhibition. Partners / Tendance Floue Central Dupon Images Tendance Floue is a collective Central DUPON Images is a Paris-based of 13 photographers that was founded photography workshop that provides in 1991 in order to explore the world a wide range of image-related services, and work together to open up new from high-def. retouching to traditional perspectives and diversify modes prints, from digital printing to framing. of representation for contemporary Central DUPON Images partners some photography. In addition to their personal of the biggest photographic cultural work, the photographers also aim events and festivals around the world to support collective photographic and actively supports the encouragement research: confronting images, and promotion of photographic art. assemblies, combinations, pooled work www.centraldupon.com to create new material. Press, publishing, exhibitions, screenings… the collective opens all doors, using all of contemporary photography’s outlets, nothing is out of bounds. www.tendancefloue.net Musée Nicéphore Niépce Access 28 quai des messageries By the A6, 71100 Chalon-sur-Saône +33 [ 0 ] 3 85 48 41 98 exit 25 Chalon Nord +33 [ 0 ] 3 85 48 63 20 / fax SNCF train station in Chalon contact @ museeniepce.com Close to the TGV station www.museeniepce.com Le Creusot-Montchanin [ 20 min. from Chalon by car ] Press Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport [ an hour from Chalon by car ] Emmanuelle Vieillard communication.niepce @ chalonsursaone.fr Catherine Philippot and Prune Philippot Relations Media 248 boulevard Raspail 75014 Paris +33 [ 0 ] 1 40 47 63 42 cathphilippot @ relations-media.com prunephilippot @ relations-media.com Open every day except Tuesdays and holidays, 9.30 ... 11.45 am and 2.00 ... 5.45 pm Free entrance We would like to thank : Friends of the Nicéphore Niépce museum – Our patrons BMW France Maison Veuve Ambal Olympus France Epson France Canson, – Our local partners Hôtel Saint-Georges BW Conseils Concession Van Ness BMW Keep up to date with the musée Nicéphore Niépce on Facebook or follow us on Twitter : @ musee_Niepce or 26 Chalon Sud