Paysages soudés 1/21

The Real, The extraordinary normal”

One time I said to myself, “….. We don’t look at nature, we look at nature…” As a result, I felt immersed, seen from all around me.

the « real »
I am captivated by the real captured by my camera. My photographs of reality sometimes surprise me so much that I no longer feel the impression I had at the time of the shooting. They are rediscovered, and a bit like «fictions», but always made of « real » matter. Art built from nothing, installations, artistic fabrications always have a particular character coming essentially from the artist . It is then possible that the sensitivity of the artist is no longer easily understood and that the work has no meaning. Photography of the real will always keep an independent component of the artist whatever the way to show it. this sufficiently strong « objective » component will allow it to keep meaning for all and beyond the ages. So, as Andréas Gursky said: « Why go further than the real, extraordinary in itself, and go towards fictional art ». I choose « the extraordinary normal », normal in the sense that I do not modify it but only transmit it. Photography is «poor» because it retains only a small part of the essence of the object. But paradoxically it seems to add a new character that would not exist in the object simply seen. This discrepancy with reality is confusing and delights me. The perspective, the depth, the sharpness too great disturbs me. Begins a game with illusion. I like the illusion when it persists even after several looks and attempts to understand, when it is not revealed or not quite.

For an abstract photograph
I now focus on the forms of Nature. Provided that my photographs do not call for ideas or memories to the spectator, so that the sense fades because it always ends up bringing comparison and judgment and weighing down. I prefer the pure, simple form, both real. Unlike painting, photography cannot produce an «abstract art» since it essentially shows real forms. I like to find photographic forms of Nature that bring me as much sense of abstraction as possible. My brain must finally conclude to a non-reality, and a degree of abstraction settles, even if it can sometimes be weak. The form is purified, is similar to painting and drawing. The paintings of V. Kandinsky and J. Pollock hypnotize me. The dialogue of photography and painting is captivating. I sometimes falsify the frame of the photo to demythify it, and escape. Was Jackson Pollock inspired by nature? An absolute delight for a master of abstraction!

Eliminate the time
The precise moment captured seems to discover an essential hidden detail but , in fact, often, it excludes the moment before and the moment after. Even if this moment is beautiful, it reduces to a detail and I cannot access the « general ». The moment fades quickly, he is already dead. the « general » or his impression, captured by the photographer, becomes naturalized and a little immortal. Alain Fleischer does not like the captured time, but he works on a «time without instant», a cinematographic time, a «time that settles (on the photograph)», a duration. I prefer to eliminate it, still the desire for abstraction, of permanence. That the moments before and after approach or, in fact, be the same as the time captured…. so that there is no longer any time.