Erwin Blumenfeld

de Vogue US, 1er janvier 1951

© The Estate of Erwin Blumenfeld, collection

Olivier Culmann The Others October 17 th 2015 ... January 17 th 2016Opening Friday October 16 th / 7 pm

Olivier Culmann The OthersOlivier Culmann presents us

with a strange portrait gallery.

The Indian man appears in many forms

before our eyes without ever revealing

his true identity…

Olivier Culmann began to shoot

this series between 2009 and 2011,

when he was living in Delhi, and kept

shooting up until 2013. The Others

will be presented in full for the first

time at the Musée Nicéphore Niépce.

In a series that includes over

130 photographs, the photographer

questions the way in which social

status is elaborated through

the construction of self-image

and explores the limits of the photo-

graphic medium.

The Others is an examination of the codes

of Indian society and their modes

of representation. The photographer’s

basic material is a series of self-portraits.

In each one, Olivier Culmann applies

the visual and sartorial specifics

that define each Indian to himself.

In a society as compartmentalised as

India’s, he means to highlight the variety

of elements that make up the identity

of an individual : religion, caste, class,

profession, geographical origin…

The portraits are split in four phases,

according to the different iconographic

creative processes in India: neighbourhood

photography studios, Photoshop used

by digital labs, painting…

[ See the descriptions of the photo series

in the attached file ]

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.

All of the photographs

for this exhibition were printed

on Canson gloss 310 g premium paper

in the laboratory

at the Musée Nicéphore Niépce.

A tie-in book is available

from Editions Xavier Barral.

Meeting with Olivier Culmann

in his exhibition

Saturday October 17 / 3:30 pm

Olivier Culmann The OthersExtracts: 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

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 gives us his fugitive

impressions. Freed from the weight

of the past, his portrait-prototypes are

notations, better, as narratives.

The various elements of the image are

clues to interpret and to bring

the spectator closer to others in the hopes

that they will end up with a fabric

of hypotheses at their disposal.

The apparently unrelated objects,

the poses and situations form a logical

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,

singularity and autonomy. The particular

attention given to one’s appearance

is aided and abetted by technology.

Digital identity is built in communication

spaces where individuals contemplate

themselves in a narcissistic manner

from a closed-off space. The connection

to others remains a never to be satisfied

quest. And photography, despite its

immense ambition, can’t do a thing

about it.

[…]

François Cheval

Olivier Culmann /biographySocial conditioning and free will are

intrinsic to Olivier Culmann’s work.

Located somewhere between the absurd

and the derisory, his work puts

the question of our everyday lives

and our relationship with images under

a microscope. He always comes back

to his obsessions – and ours –, winning

us over with his sense of humour

and his talent for narrative.

1993 – 1999

In collaboration with Mat Jacob,

his Les Mondes de l’école project was

awarded the Villa Médicis Hors Les Murs

in 1997

2001

Les Mondes de l’école, published

by Éditions Marval

Une vie de poulet , published

by editions Filigranes

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

2008

The “Les Mondes de l’école” series

is shown at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

3 rd World Press Photo prize

for his “Watching TV” series

( “contemporary subjects” category )

2011

Watching TV, published

by Éditions Textuel

“Watchers” show at the Pavillon Carré

de Baudouin in Paris

2014

The Others and Diversions series

shown at the Festival Images in Vevey,

Switzerland

2015

The Others series is shown

at the Musée Nicéphore Niépce

in Chalon-sur-Saône

The Others, published

by Editions Xavier Barral

All reproductions

must state :

© Olivier Culmann / Tendance Floue

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.

Available visuals /

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

Tendance Floue is a collective

of 13 photographers that was founded

in 1991 in order to explore the world

and work together to open up new

perspectives and diversify modes

of representation for contemporary

photography. In addition to their personal

work, the photographers also aim

to support collective photographic

research: confronting images,

assemblies, combinations, pooled work

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

Central DUPON Images

Central DUPON Images is a Paris-based

photography workshop that provides

a wide range of image-related services,

from high-def. retouching to traditional

prints, from digital printing to framing.

Central DUPON Images partners some

of the biggest photographic cultural

events and festivals around the world

and actively supports the encouragement

and promotion of photographic art.

www.centraldupon.com

Musée Nicéphore Niépce

28 quai des messageries

71100 Chalon-sur-Saône

+33 [0]3 85 48 41 98

+33 [0]3 85 48 63 20 / fax

contact @ museeniepce.com

www.museeniepce.com

Press

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

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on Twitter : @ musee_Niepce

Access

By the A6,

exit 25 Chalon Nord

or 26 Chalon Sud

SNCF train station in Chalon

Close to the TGV station

Le Creusot-Montchanin

[ 20 min. from Chalon by car ]

Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport

[ an hour from Chalon by car ]