Christian Boltanski: Dead or Alive?

United Kingdom
1994
en
[cc]
43'

Direction: Gerald Fox

In his studio, in his car, Gérald Fox follows the elusive Boltanski who, in his installations, makes use of portraits, newspaper clippings, magazines, family albums. The photographic approach, endlessly recomposed, proceeds by juxtaposition and accumulation. Each shot, framed in black, is lit by visible bulbs, the mass effect restoring the individual: walls of votive images that question the memory, our dark side, the inevitable passage of time, the traces left behind. Between autofiction and reality, Boltanski: artist or maker (of beauty)?

Christian Boltanski: Dead or Alive?

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Synopsis

In his studio, in his car, Gérald Fox follows the elusive Boltanski who, in his installations, makes use of portraits, newspaper clippings, magazines, family albums. The photographic approach, endlessly recomposed, proceeds by juxtaposition and accumulation. Each shot, framed in black, is lit by visible bulbs, the mass effect restoring the individual: walls of votive images that question the memory, our dark side, the inevitable passage of time, the traces left behind. Between autofiction and reality, Boltanski: artist or maker (of beauty)?

What you will find in this film

A photographer who does not photograph • From micro to macro • The art of recycling images • Black and white and lights • The importance of shadows • A serial art • An autodidact who doubts himself • The art of provoking reflection • The insignifiant signifier • The importance of memory • The omnipresence of death • Universal, contemporary themes • Danses macabres • From the group to the individual • From the artist to the human • Multiple choice questions • Photographic installations • Sculptural installations • A major figure in contemporary art

Keywords

Black & White The artist inspiration Analogue photogaphy Archive footage Installation

The victims of today can become the criminals of tomorrow.

Christian Boltanski

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The authors/artists

Christian Boltanski

Artiste Plasticien

Further exploration

• CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI – FAIRE SON TEMPS – exhibition catalogue in French and English; directed by: Bernard Blistène; Éditions du Centre Pompidou; 2019

• CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI, RÉCITS - authors: Christian Boltanski and Laure Adler; Flammarion; 2021

• LA VIE POSSIBLE DE CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI - authors: Christian Boltanski and Catherine Grenier; Fictions & Cie (Seuil); 2010

• BOLTANSKI: SOULS FROM PLACE TO PLACE - author: Danilo Eccher; Silvanaeditoriale; 2018

• BOLTANSKI. TIME

- author: Ralf Beil; Hatje Kantz Publishers; 2007

Magazines, metal, cardboard, wood, fabric, candles, bulbs...

IN ENGLISH :

- Interview with Alexis Dahan, "The Brooklyn Rail", February 2020.
- Press article in “The Guardian”, juillet 2020.

- "Christian Boltanski: Talking Art", Tate, april 2009.

IN FRENCH :

- Entretien avec Sylvain Bourmeau à propos de d'exposition « Après » à la galerie Marian Goodman , janvier 2021.

- Entretien video avec Yasmine Youssi (Télérama), novembre 2019.

- Entretien video "La Masterclasse de Christian Boltanski", France Culture, juin 2018.

- Entretien avec Élisabeth Lebovici pour “Libération”, novembre 2003, publiée par paris-art.com.

- Entretien avec Laure Adler dans "Le Cercle de minuit", archive INA, 1996.