“The Eye Listens” - Conversation with Pierre Vallet, photographer and the first Resident within the Artistic Scholarship of Villa Decius Institute for Culture. 03.04.2020

I’ve always had a passion for what we call Old Europe or Mitteleuropa. Especially at the turn of 19th and 20th century. From the end of the 80s, I intended to take an initiatory journey between Vienna, Prague and Budapest. Thanks to the Villa Medicis Hors-Les-Murs Prize, which I was awarded in 1990, I could started this photographic quest through the world of opera and dance as well as the most important cultural institutions of those three cities, but I visited also Germany, Italy and the former Yugoslavia. The effect of those almost two years journey was a book entitled En Veille Europe, with the text by Nicolas Bouvier, published by the Musée de l'Elysée in Lausanne, which also exhibited the photograps. The exhibition was then presented in different European cities, but Poland was not among them - the country that I was really curious of and looked at with certain timidity, tenderness and attraction. Five years ago, with the writer and poet Christian Petr, we decided to start a project dedicated to Poland, especially Krakow. After a short stay in this city, we knew we were going to come back very soon. Unfortunately, it turned out to be impossible because of Christian Petr’s sudden death. After a period of doubts and hesitation, I decided to continue our work in order to pay tribute to him and get closer to the city that I was waiting for or rather the city that was waiting for me.

When I published my last book entitled Ciel d’hier (with the beautiful poems of Baptiste-Marrey, a writer, poet and a great man of theatre, who was to me, through his writings, a wonderful travel companion for over thirty years), I sent it to Mr. Frédéric de Touchet, Consul General of France in Krakow. That was the beginning of cooperation, which lasted incessantly in following months. With a firm will, he never stopped presenting my work in Krakow and trying to find a place to exhibit my pictures. Thanks to the hospitality of Villa Decius Institute for Culture it became possible.

I am working on a series of photographs conveying a certain “Polish presence”. I want to capture both the charm of Krakow, which I find “feminine”, and in my work I am trying to capture the spirit of womanhood as well. This is why I decided to entitle the project Polonaises - this word is understandable for anyone and relates to not only music, dance and womenhood, but also the way of reviving cultural heritage. As Romana Agnel (a dancer, choreographer, funder and director of the Cracovia Danza Court Ballet): “The Polonaise [dance] has been influenced by various changes of form and style, but it nevertheless managed to keep its character and function of a medium of national heritage... consequently, the theme of the polonaise has become an ambassador of Polish culture, customs and mentality on the international scene; for Polish peoples, it will always be a symbol. "

And that's what this is all about. What is more, the word "Polonaises" (I use it in plural and without an article) is so beautiful to write and say. I like it very much and think it would sound great as a book title, which I am going to prepare in Krakow.

The more you know about the past, the better future you are able to create. The more you know a country’s culture, the more you can be inspired by it. The history of a country or a city, with creators, who have created its intellectual richness is something that we are nourished by today. If it comes to Polish contemporary culture, there are essential cultural markers that feed me in my photographic research, but it’s purely personal: Helmar Lerski, Zbigniew Dlubak, Bogdan Konopka (who left us a few months ago), Henryk Tomaszewski, Roman Cieslewicz (creators of the Polish School of Posters), I remembered a poster of Król Roger (by Karol Szymanowski), by Tomasz Boguslawski; extraordinary power of simplicity and the message delivered; the String Quarter N° 3 (Pages from an Unwritten Diary) by Krzysztof Penderecki, which I happened to listen last January at the Collegium Novum, performed by Messages Quartet. I have also made many surprising discoveries during my visits in Krakow’s bookstores and museums. We shall not forget that the first modern art museum in the world was created at Łódź in… 1929! 

Krakow is a city of a human size, one can walk the lenght and breadth of it . Walking is one of the principal features of every self-respecting photographer. Kraków beams an atmosphere that is so special - particularly during photographic tramps along cobbled streets under cover of the night. Getting lost in the city allows to better discover it.

If it comes to architecture, since the transformation in19th century, the Planty has offered a multitude of compositions to walkers in search of images. Especially at dusk, the city is black and white then, perhaps it is at this time of day that the city reveals itself the most. “Stop and listen. Listen carefully to the rustle of dozens of voices whispering incessantly” - as Boaz Pash, Krakow’s rabbin, once said.

In Krakow I was also captivated by the Kazimierz district - a warm welcome from its cafes, whose walls are full of old framed photos. The whole district is a souvenir, a memoir, which the city willingly shares with you. As in the case of Planty, the architecture of Kazimierz reveals itself in all its splendor at night - graphics of the curves and straight lines, the multitude of perspectives.

When it comes to my photos, it is not my photographs, but the look of a spectator that is melancholic.  Besides, melancholia is not the same thing as nostalgia.

The timeless aspect of black and white helps catch qualities of composition. Perhaps the lack of color may be even more attractive for the viewer. There is also an emotional dimension to black and white - they are more sensual.

Black-and-white photography is like framing of silence; meditation; the suspension of time; the music of the moment; an interior appeasement, that appears after the triggering of the camera; also, a promise of things; the revelation of matter, magic. Silence and beauty reigns within it. As André Malraux once said, “silence is the origin of any artistic manifestation.” 

Historically speaking, the colour appears in photography in 1905 along with the autochrome invented by Lumière brothers, but was developed basically in the 30s. We have to remember, though, that at this time black and white photography was simply less expensive and easier, hence its popularity - just consider the works of Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Henri Cartier-Bresson and others.

I would also say that black and white and colour photography are different means serving to achieve different goals. As to me, I’m attracted to the poetry of black and white; it allows me to confer my way of feeling into the image. It's also sort of a certain philosophy: black and white photography is a direct message that a photographer leaves, with no tricks involved.

Melancholy amongst the Polish? I haven't noticed it yet, I don't even know if it exists! So far, I have noticed something quite opposite - I've discovered a new country, I can feel fresh air, an urge to keep on discovering, creating; a desire for freedom. While working in Poland I felt a creative impulse and I can't wait to continue my project.

The proper name for what is often called analog photography is film photography or traditional photography. Henri Cartier-Bresson would turn over in his grave if he were told that he was doing analog photography. Would we call an artist creating with brushes an analog painter? If I'm annoyed now it is only because the deep respect that we owe to our predecessors, the visionaries, who showed us the way through their artistic achievements. They are now present in books, museums and collections. A contemporary man fall silent in front of their works.

I exercise traditional photography with my students in France and Switzerland to teach them how to work with a negative and to develop a picture. I still can't forget this look in their eyes, when they were producing "their works of art"! Many young photographers, born with digital technology, are discovering the traditional photography. It establishes a completely different relationship between a photographer and the object; you have to take time to frame the image, which requires concentration and helps develop it. Also, you can't zoom and make hundreds of photos to choose one afterwards. I, myself, use both, but my way of photographing in digital is the same as with silver photography.

It’s a rediscovered happiness to write on paper; a discovery for others. The pen, with a nib (there are all kinds, widths, flexibility); then the inks (an infinite range of colors) and finally, paper (variety of grains and thickness). It is pure pleasure waiting to be discovered for those who do not yet know this joy! The fountain pen brings out the personality of the person who writes. There are sensations that you don't find with other writing instruments.

I will be very brief and firm on this subject, because there are too many controversies and many theories and remedies that can be found on the web, false and dangerous. First of all, we must stand in solidarity with everyone, because it is everyone's business. Whatever our profession is, and the responsibility it entails, the artists are also citizens who must behave as such. The sooner everyone understands the level of urgency, the sooner we can get back to our activities again. If the emergency instructions are not taken seriously, the bad scenario may occur - I'm talking about the domino effect. We have to use this time to find ourselves, this is not a lost time. We can rethink the perception of ourselves and the world, find time for reading or writing.

I had many appointments made and I have many cultural events scheduled, during which I would like to take photos and finish my work. Of course I have to wait, but believe me,  the desire to come back here is very strong for me, I miss Krakow terribly. I have the desire to meet as many personalities from the art world as I can, and I hope for even more intensive participation and more lively creation. I want to share this energy. I often say that it is the essence of art to share. The photographer is a guide through the life imprinted on paper, a guide in the journey  from the object to the one who is going to perceive it. It is the heart which listens, upon reception of the image, to what the eye has perceived. L'oeil écoute, as Paul Claudel said, "the eye listens". Photography reveals nature, but also human feelings.

Pierre Vallet - French artist-photographer, grantee of the National Photography Foundation (1980), two-time winner of the Villa Médicis Hors les Murs Award (1990, 1993). Author, among others, albums “In Old Europe” (text: Nicolas Bouvier) and “Ciel d’hier” (text: Baptiste-Marrey). He conducts photographic searches devoted to Alpine landscapes, 20th-century and contemporary architecture, as well as the cultural transformation of Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. His works have been shown at collective and individual exhibitions throughout Europe. Born in Lyon. He lives and creates in Annecy (France). In 2020, he received the Artistic Scholarship of the Villa Decius Institute for Culture.