A PROJECT …In few words

10 years of observati on,10 years of refl ecti on,10 years of passion,

3 arti sts for 1 place : Provence.

The series «Rencontre» is an arti sti c and poeti cal excursion, an invitati on to refl ecti on and discovery. A very real tribute to Provence, every photo of the ‘Rencontre’ series was taken in this region unhesitati ngly revisiti ng the provencal stereotypes from the lavander to the buildings of the old Phoenician city, Marseille.

As one progresses through the series, the spectator gradually discovers a region where the details remind him of familiar elements whereas the globality leads the onlooker towards another dimension, deeper and more inti mate.

«To understand the world one must someti mes turn away from it; to bett er serve humanity, keep them for a while at a distance. But where can one fi nd the necessary solitude to be forceful, the long respirati on where the spirit gathers force and where courage is measured? The answer lies in the big towns or citi es.»

Albert Camus

The theme of benefi cial solitude is recurrent in the Ulla’s previous works and conti nues in this new series, while matured the style has evolved, leaving a place for purer images ; a style totally contempory.

... A «RENCONTRE» by Ulla REIMERCaroline Carles

Benoît Verna

History et context

Born in Francfort but of French nati onality, an internati onal photographer (USA, Europe, Japan), Ulla Reimer has always travelled the world.

However, since the 1980’s, it is in a picturesque Luberon village that she has decided to put down her roots.

«Fallen from the very heights of the sky, fl oods of sun rebond all around us. Everything falls silent before this turmoil and the Luberon, over there, is nothing but an enormous block of silence which I listen to without repite».

Albert Camus

Sharing certain themes dear to Albert Camus, solitude, the sun, a fervous for life, it was aft er reading «L’été» that Ulla Reimer decided to live in Provence.

Charmed by this litt le collecti on of lyrical and passionate stories which take the reader on a journey around the Mediterranean, Ulla Reimer could not resist the culture of Provence, being inspired in her turn.

She gives today her personal vision of a region where power, beauty, diversity, gentleness mix together and are propricious to creati on also to the development of the individual.

It was from 1998 that Ulla Reimer started to exhibit her work in the south of France (Bonnieux, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille) and it was quite naturally in Provence that Ulla Reimer chose to give birth to her daughter in 1995.

The fascinati on that Ulla Reimer has for big agglomerati ons goes back to the 90’s when, living in Tokyo, she was struck by the antagonism between the city environnement and the lives that are lead within.

One would think that, a dense populati on gives rise to an apparently worrying sort of jumble but in fact what predominates in a certain anonymity allowing individuals to be alone and free, in accordance with him or herself.

The buildings, veritable works of art and architectural feats express, inspite of the strength of the materials and their imposing dimensions, only gentleness by their rounded forms and purity by their minimalist designs.

«It is that populated solitude that we come to look for in the citi es.»

Albert Camus

By immortalising the Starck Tower in Tokyo in her series «Tokyo-To» in 1990 Ulla Reimer already wanted to pay tribute to that «well-being» that solitude can bring.

At the present ti me Ulla Reimer no langer produces negati ves nor integrates models. Her only att racti on is for an environnement an atmosphere which goes beyond the beings that evolve within it.

As she takes the ti me to watch her child grow and change, Ulla Reimer observes at the same ti me the evoluti on of life around her and through ti me.

She compares life as in nature in constant renewal through the seasons and life with in agglomerati ons in perpetual evoluti on. Everywhere the same gentle power and the same serenity, an emanent solitude.

It is that sensual and long term vision (far from touristi c clichés) that Ulla Reimer has nourished over the years and which today she wishes to transcribe in images.

As her recent work can testi fy, Ulla Reimer has not just been contented to observe the renewal of life around her, she has also renewed her style developing a more modern approach.

Inspired by Provence and in parti cular by the city of Marseille, a place which links perfectly history and expansion, Ulla Reimer has delved into her past in order to renew her style and bring it up to date.

For the fi rst ti me in the career of an arti st, this last series to date has the audacity of mixing silver fi lm prints with digital pictures, black, white and colour

Even though she has always claimed from the start to belong to the classic, silver fi lm black and white photographic trend, Ulla Reimer has found today another means of arti sti c expression with her digital shots.

In the series «Rencontre» she has used the two techniques in parrallel , giving a result which she considers to be complimentary but not interchangeable.

Description

The series «Rencontre» proposes two types of shots, some in a natural environnment and others in an urban environnement. The natural landscape photos were all taken with a red fi lter. In this way the view is reduced to a diametre of 62mm, in a red atmosphere which is transformed into a deep black when developed. As soon, as the shot is taken the arti st plunges into a private universe, cut off from the world, alone with her view, alone with her subject, a very small fragment in an immense landscape. Loyal to her training, Ulla Reimer uses her knowledge and experience to develop her photos herself in her dark-room. In this private universe she works in harmony with the negati ves and light to sculpture each picture according to her emoti ons. In contrast the shots taken in an urban environment were taken with a digital camera and in colour.

In this dynamic city atmosphere, bustling and colourful, the need for inti macy given by the red fi lter is not felt so much, allowing space to create greater distance with the subject. Faced with the creati vity of other arti sts and architects the photo reveals less a personal abandonment but more a sharing with other creators.

A part from the pure technicaliti es of a shot, the choice of the subject matt er itself marks a turning point with previous work by the arti st.

With the series «Rencontre», Ulla Reimer makes the choice of abstracti on, deliberately ‘suggesti ng’ rather than ‘showing’. The subjects are never shown in their enti rety, the details are exaggerated to an extent that, at fi rst sight, one does not guess the content, the vision of the world is upturned, jostled.

The associati on between the fragments of the city and the fragments of nature are someti mes troubling is their ressemblance, blurring preconceived concepti ons, stagnant but sti mulati ng the imaginati on.

Bark, shadows, unfl owing, water, at fi rst sight nature in it’s deserti c form appearing to be lifeless. However the bare branches of a tree in winter reaching for the sky are witness to very real life, reaching undoubtedly towards hope.

Apparently absent, life is none the less there, slumbering; it is ti relessly born again in the course of the seasons.

Cement, glass, steel, at fi rst sight the over populated city seems a sterile place. However the purist lines of a facade created by man are the marks of aestheti sm and dreams.

Apparently absent, life is none the less refl ected, it is lived out between the walls of solid and imposing structures.

If one looks carefully, each detail allows us to enter into the heart of life, an inner life, deep and serene.

mur de fragments (longueur réelle : 5.20m)

Human constructi ons and elements of nature are no longer opposed but become analogous, even mixed together in a ‘benifi cial’ solitude. Every individual can fi nd himself at the same ti me both ignored by others and get in the midst of life. Alone with himself, drawing strength from the elements to fi nd himself and feed his hopes, he can live.

By diverti ng one’s view from it’s preconceived concepti ons, the meeti ng between nature and ‘constructi ons’ becomes evident, melti ng into gentle inti macy.

In Conclusion.

A cultural excursion in Provence, a tribute to that seemingly exterior solitude which feeds the inner self. Or questi ons about the relati onship of man to the world and to himself, each photo is a :

Meeting with a place an artist, an introspection.

Objectives

A series which is openly ‘provencale’, «Rencontre» claims to honor the South of France.

In renewing the famous clichés which have made Provence so att racti ve to tourists the series att ests to the capacity of the region to move forward, to modernise without repudiati ng its past.

The volontary contemporary aspect of the photos goes together with todays reorganizati on programmes of the South East, such as the rehabilitati on and expansion of the city of Marseille.

The enti re series is a testi mony to a blooming region whose economical and cultural standing does not need to be proved.

Action

The series in which each photos is limited to 25 examples is presented in three diff erent forms :

- a big exhibiti on including very large photos. Presentati ons outside as well as inside.

- a publicati on.- an audio-visuel document which can be

diff used on the internet.

The series will develop with ti me ; it will be added to renewed, transcribing in pictures, the evoluti on of the provencal region, in parti cular the city of Marseille and in broader terms, the expansion of the world where each unique individual is part of a whole.

«Melting spot»

In the image of its creator whose life has always oscillated between the Occident and the Orient, «Rencontre», having found its origins in France, is a series desti ned to fi nd an internati onal dimension.

Under the broader name of «Melti ng Spot» the world’s greatest architectural monuments as well as the richest landscapes of each conti nent can join, using the same model as the series «Rencontre».

As a result of a photographically cultural meeti ng, from its strati ng point in Provence, the South-East of France will take a truly european and Internati onal dimension.

L’exposition en chiffres

The exhibiti on is made of 3 parts :

- 15 dypti cs limited , 25 examples.dimensions 1.20m x 1.20m

- 3 quadripti cs limited , 25 exemplaires.dimensions 2.00m x 0.70m

- two walls fragments : • 20 photos 30x40 cm

black and white analogical photographshorizontal dispositi on • 23 photos 30x40 cm digital coulour photographs.verti cal dispositi on

- a video and musical creati on.

- a visual art installati on outside.

Each part of the exhibiti on can be shown separately and can be adapted to diff erent places and exhibiti on halls.

rencontre exposition photographique et art visuel

photographies et vidéoUlla REIMER

conceptionCaroline Carles

composition musicaleBenoît Verna