Category Archives: photography

Guilty pleasures #3

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO96CaLFRBw]

Cargo de Nuit (1983) Axel Bauer

The clip is directed by French photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino (1983). It is an homage to the movie Querelle by Fassbinder. To us, in the early eighties, Querelle was the quintessence of the macho/gay sensibility and it was copied by musicians such as Luc Van Acker on the cover of The Ship[1] album. Jean-Paul Gaultier appropriated this seaman’s aesthetic and celebrated it all through the early eighties.

Querelle (1982) – Rainer Werner Fassbinder
[Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Fassbinder’s adaptation of Jean Genet’s novel features surreal sets that underscore the dreamlike quality and abstraction of the novel. It was Fassbinder’s final and, by his own words, most important movie.

Digression #1: Axel Bauer is not related to John Bauer:

John Bauer

John Bauer

 

In search of eroded doorsteps

Doorstep erosion

Eroded doorstep in Antwerp, summer 2007

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fond of eroded doorsteps. For at least 5 years now, I’ve been planning to make pictures of these kind of doorsteps but I had never gotten round to it. Until a couple of weeks ago, when I went with my daughters into the city in search of eroded doorsteps.

Do you have pictures of eroded doorsteps, or eroded marble statues as a result of touching them? Please let me know and post your links in the comments section.

P. S. : erosion and eroded Google galleries.

Mirror, mirror

I’m totally taken with this photograph by Bellocq which immediately reminded me of Il Bagno by Fernando Botero. Does anyone have an idea on the copyright status of the Bellocq pictures? As is evident from this page at Wikipedia, Bellocq’s photographs are in the public domain in the United States, but the information also states that “this image might not be in the public domain outside the United States.” The page where the first photograph I point to states that the copyright belongs to the estate of E. J. Bellocq/Lee Friedlander. Who has the complete story?

P. S. to circumvent copyright issues, I give you the Bellocq Google gallery.

P. S. #2 To round this post of, a post by Gatochy on the similarity of the said Bellocq photograph with an illustration by Bonfils. Gatochy is Mariana who runs a series of interesting blogs related to visual culture. Here is her Google gallery.

P. S. #3 Check Femme Femme Femme and the work of Delphin-Enjolras

My girls and fashion

Bonnie, Fara, Fee

Today was my introduction to the work of Tim Walker, which is wonderfully theatrical, fantastique and narrative, without seeming far-fetched. The current issue of Stern Fotografie has a special on his work. Here is a preview: