Sunday evening in Arles, a thin veil of clouds and a certain expected warmth, the day before the opening week of the Rencontres de la Photographie. The city is preparing to host the event, between first glasses of champagne and reunions in cheerful laughter.
Such as those who made themselves heard at the Galerie Anne Clergue where the opening of Italian artist Chiara Indelicato and her work “Pelle di lava” took place, various views taken in Stromboli, Italy, with pieces of lava, objects collected on the island, and pieces of burnt wood.
Right next door, a small guitarist concert was being held for the exhibition of artist Jean-Pierre Formica at the Regala Gallery. The creator of unusual colorful shapes claims to work from nature and presents a host of ceramics made from preparatory watercolors.
During all this time, and all day long, the Costume Festival was taking place in Arles. An annual gathering centered around the “Queen of Arles,” designated for four years to celebrate regional traditions.
With the Rencontres d’Arles, I would like to tell you about a popular festival focused solely on photographic art, but times have changed and the event is not spared by the weight of the market, partnerships with the world of the automobile industry, luxury, advertising… which also make the celebration and the meeting that the Rencontres are today.
With The Eye of Photography, we’ll meet all the participants in this opening week and share a jovial account, accompanied by slightly overexposed photographs (to reflect the mild summer weather).
There’s no ranking of personalities, but rather visibility for all, without hierarchy or questionable position. It will emerge from a free wandering, through chance encounters, between cocktail parties and street corner conversations. It will undoubtedly reflect what Arles is today. Certainly the largest photography festival in the world, but also a place for people who work with images, professionals who work around them and are not artists.
We hope to have rich conversations about creation in the age of generative AI and the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
We will undoubtedly have a myriad of images to comment on, suggestions to offer, and little anecdotes to share.
So, please feel free to follow this daily journal, if you’re interested, whether you’re here or far from Arles.
Jean-Baptiste Gauvin
Arles 2025 : Disobedient Images
56th edition is from july 7 to october 5.
Opening week is from july 7 to 13.
https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en
https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions
https://billetterie.rencontres-arles.com/prestation/Expositions.html?process=2#
