« Janus et Rébus sont sur la banquise» a creative turning point.

As I already said since September I am in a creative period. My colleagues from the A.A.B. who organized an exhibition about the COP 21 objectives were lacking material to show. I decided to think about what I could do to support their initiative. I began by conceiving a photo with the material of « La Géode en Folie» and produced an enigmatic composition that illustrated the title « Janus and Rébus are on the bank-ice ». Very pleased with my inventive composition I sent it by email expecting an enthusiastic response. « I don't understand. » was the answer. So, I was obliged to provide an explanation. I found that very comical and instructive. I changed slightly the composition, add an explanation and decided to present the result, called Mea Culpa, in the exhibition.

But I needed to present something. The idea to use the collection of the COP 21 posters (see my previous post) came up. As I had no intention to glue my posters in the streets of Paris like street artists do with their work (they do that at night away from the police), I imagine to use Photoshop to include the posters in photos from Parisian streets. The A.A.B. being at the origin of this idea, the first photo presented is the outside wall of the association with some of my posters.

On the other hand, the objective of this exhibition linked with the COP 21 conference was to start thinking ecological in our artistic fields. Therefore, the participants had to provide a detailed label describing the material used in the exhibited works. So, I tried to find an ecological way to present my numerical images. My surprise was complete to state that after several hours on the web searching for a green printing solution, there was in fact no simple solution available at my level in Paris in 2015. There are only few companies offering « Green » printing solutions, and generally available only for companies or industrial quantities, which was not the case for me. For photographers you can choose the more expensive papers made out with plant fibres like cotton or bamboo for instance. Then, you can eventually choose a printing company that will respect a green chart for the treatment of their wastes but there was no photographic laboratory claiming a really green attachment in the list. Of course I looked to the inks and other chemical products used in photography, the results were similar. The conclusion was clear: There is today no possibility to be a 100% green photographer at my scale. One can choose subjects related with this field, but finally the printing of the images or their distribution will demand energy and non-ecological products that will affect environment. So symbolically I decided to present my images with laser prints using recycled paper and not photographic paper. I will show two images sized 30x40cm and a panel of 60x90 cm composed with glued images because there is no other printing possibilities. Of course the quality of the image is deteriorated, but it is the only way I found to be green. So for the future if we want to preserve climate we will have to make compromises with our standards of living and our criteria of

judgement on photography. As long as technology and the industry will not provide a new solution, we will have to change our behaviours. Presently, almost no photographer is ready to follow this way, we are trapped.

COP 21 : A challenge for everyone and an aborted project.

With the event of COP 21 and its problematic, the French government supported all the initiatives that would contribute to become conscious of the situation. In this context the A.A.B. (Ateliers des Artistes de Belleville) and its members wanted to produce an exhibition that would reflect the artists commitment to the climate problematic. So the commission of the association I belong planned an exhibition entitled « Janus and Rebus are on the ice-bank… ». The title was not very clear and it was difficult to obtain contributions. So I decided, to participate and began to think about what to do to be exhibited.

Finally, I found several ideas and as I had the experience of the photo exhibition I tried to build the following project. With Photoshop and all the photos produced in September on La Géode I have designed about fifteen posters to promote the COP 21 event.   

These posters needed to be seen by the public, so I contacted the merchant association of the St. Paul Village and offered a collaboration for the duration of the conference from the 30th of November to the 12th of December. I would provide the posters to be displayed in the shop-windows and would have made a web advertising campaign. The merchants would present the posters in their shops and would support this experience their own way. Their main contribution being in financing the printing of the posters with recycle paper (the price is three times the price of a normal print). The budget was of 300 € for 12-15 shops, and the merchants would keep the poster at the end of the experience. I contacted the association on the 20th of October, I expected that they would have been able to react quickly and that they would be pleased to participate in an event that would follow the actuality. 

The reaction was very away from what I had expected. First, this temporary exhibition of posters was considered much too political, secondly the budget was too high and thirdly they were not able to decide quickly on the subject. I offered a modified and extended version of the project for a budget of 200 € after having printed a sample. The result of the printing was medium but that is one of the problems if we want to be ecological.

I never received any reply. The events that happened since in Paris as put an end to the project, but it shows how difficult the situation is for an artist to be exhibited in Paris.

Finally, I have produced my photos and posters and will only participate in the exhibition of the A.A.B.

27th of November, National Memorial Day for the events since the 13th of November and their victims.

Today, we were invited to present our national flag at the window to share this homage united. My window is my blog. In the last 15 days I have followed the different Parisian sites involved in the events. 

Rue Bichat, Bullit in the window of the Carillon restaurant.

The 130 deads and the 300 injured  came from 25 countries, average age of 30-35. They were spending time in restaurants, bars, a stadium and a rock concert. For certain terrorists Friday, is a day to pray, and to illustrate their choice of living they acted to force us to follow them. France has a history, and with Voltaire has chosen to resist to religion to support freedom for the citizen. For that reason France became politically symbolic and this explains the choice of Paris. For this same reason there is no point in trying to make a difference between « Je suis Charlie » and « Pray for Paris » events. The two terrorist attempts find their origin in the same ideology. 

Rue Fontaine au Roi, the pub.

The press has focused on the western way of life as being the objective of the terrorists. But we should not forget that the restaurant Comptoir Voltaire is located at the opposite side of the ward, they were not obliged to drive so far to find people drinking or eating outside. The Bataclan stays at the crossing of Boulevard Richard Lenoir and Boulevard Voltaire.
The name « Bataclan » finds its origin in a musical work (a « Chinoiserie », a comical fantasia of Jacques Offenbach). Offenbach father came from Germany and was Jewish. The restaurant La Belle Equipe is located, rue de Charonne, a place where the Jewish community is present. In Wikipedia they mention that the owners of the hall are Jewish, today it belongs to the group Bolloré, and I have no idea of the religion of the owner.

Proud to be Parisian, Rue Fontaine au Roi, the pub. 

Many journalists reported that the victims were the people of France and sometimes used the term « popular ». In the history of France the term Popular evokes the working classes of the crafts and industry. Living in the same place as the victims and after having looked to their profession, it would be more accurate to speak of the Parisian Bobo class, mostly they were employed, many worked in relation with arts and culture, and they came from different countries and religion. Many people came to Paris to build their professional life or have a good time. The places involved in the events were ‘In’ sites. I live just nearby, but my financial situation does not allow me to be out. This « Bobo » generation, is not always conscious that in their behaviour they are communal, they privileged technology, youth and the urban way of life. The people of the suburbs and the teens or seniors were not very present. This « Bobo » generation is the future of Paris.

A muslin women in a group of 8 sharing our emotion. In front of the Bataclan.

-       Having spent much time making photos I must add the following comments:
- After the Charlie’s events it was sometimes said among the Muslim community that what had happened was logical after the caricatures. This time, if the terrorists expected to create a splitting in the Muslim community they missed, on the contrary their testimonies were very present.

Indian family in front of the Bataclan.

- For the first time the Asiatic community was very present because the two restaurants were involved: Le petit Cambodge and a sushi restaurant. Many Buddhist testimonies were present.
- In the first days Paris and the Eiffel Tower were chosen as symbols for the event, and few flags were present, two weeks after flags or the use of the three national colours in the drawings are everywhere. I do not know how to interpret this change. Is it the expression of a rebirth of nationalism or the expression of a national unity?

A couple sharing their emotion at Place de la République.

 
- We should have a profound reflection about the impact of smartphones in our ordinary life. Why are these tools so present in such emotional and personal situations. Are we able to really directly feel the things, why are we obliged to take « souvenirs » at any moment for every purpose. The smart phones have found a unique role in our behaviours, they have changed our direct relation to emotion and memory.

- Today certain people consider they should not change their way of living.  I am not sure it should be the right reaction. We French and western people, have to conduct a major analyse to understand why certain of our young people have chosen this mortal way. The present western model focusing on an individual urban materialism, on communal approaches due to the technology, privileging youth when expectation of life increases, the individual interest against the state organisations excluding the intermediates. We have a lot to do !

All these elements explain why the impact was so strong in France and especially in the world. I wanted to share my feelings and thoughts with you. I have gathered many images and I am always looking for an editor because the use of panoramic photos in this case is uncommon.

Paris, Friday, 13th of November 2015: Dark Night.

Charlie's events were not forgotten. On the 15th October I was at the memorial site of Charlie Hebdo and walked all along the Boulevard Richard Lenoir, where the last and the only one place with  several testimonies remained.

I was surprised by that, and wondered : Have they forgotten, are they conscious of the situation we are involved in? Is my personnal commitment useless?

Photo from my Charlie's Days collection January 2015.



Today of course its different. Now it's time for sorrow. I am concerned: I live in Paris, in the 11th arrondissement. I obeyed the government order to stay home. It's 14H00 on Sunday the 15th, I'am going out for the fisrt time since...for a memorial walk again.

Au-Delà du Réel, « Outer Limits », the 10th of November. It's Finished.

 As I told this experience was new to me. Now the exhibition belongs to the past and the balance has been done. Globally the artists were pleased even if there was no sale or fewer new visitors than expected. I received a lot of acknowledgments from the artists, but as I wrote, I had certain objectives in mind in order to evaluate the possibilities of the gallery. 

Poster inspired by the american TV film "Outer Limits". The adventure begins here with the AAB instead of Continues in the original image.

But all this project offered me the opportunity to see from the inside many aspects of the artists and their behaviour, I ignored. Of course, there were both good and bad aspects of this experience, but the most important is that I have been able to identify how I can best contribute to the association. So for several months I will concentrate in collaborating on projects with my work for exhibitions managed by colleagues. Since September I am through a very creative period regarding photography and a new style in my photos came up. So why should I complain. 

 So if the public from the centre of Paris did not come to look my works what should I do? In France there is the following saying from a film « Le Bossu  » 1959: « If you don't get to Lagardere, Lagardere will come to you ». So now with Photoshop there is no limit to my wishes as you can see here above. In the photo I have presented the five works exhibited in the gallery from the AAB displayed in a major gallery of Place des Vosges. This photocomposition belongs to a group of photos called « Look at me! » or « How to have his works seen. » 

Now it's time for new adventures.