More than fifty years of photographs, which are reflected, in absolute gratitude, by forty years of presence at the Rencontres Internationales Photographiques d’Arles, with an original exhibition each year. Here we are, then, in the presence of Serge Assier’s fortieth solo exhibition, in the good city of Arles. Well, certainly not so good, the city with its dignitaries, its city councilors, and the high-ranking administration of so-called international meetings that increasingly resemble the luxury “tax-free zone” of a globalized airport. At first glance, luxury logos and financial foundations are more important than the collections of photographic works. These creations, born from the hard work of these beggars who informed and amazed our planet until just ten years ago. Lucien, Jean-Maurice, Michel, and the others must be amazed, from their photographic Olympus, – on the lookout – behind their telephoto lenses.
The indispensable Serge Assier is the perfect example of all these photographers whose work is as renowned as it is essential, these passionate, dedicated volunteers who built this global showcase of photography in Arles, which has become a display of glitz for disdainful “look at me.” Certainly, there was the split, as unexplained as it was inexplicable, of the festival into an “in” and an “off.” Then, we watched helplessly as the “off” was put to death (non-bullfightingly) by an intelligentsia that displayed its sharp careerist skills as imposing as its total incompetence in the field of photography. Except for the occasional production of mediocre speeches. What remains of our loves… photographic and passionate?
Fortunately, we still have a few monsters, fortunately not always sacred and a bit iconoclastic (in the historical sense, hostile to single-track thinking, of course), with remarkable works. These authentic image creators are being suffocated by all these so-called emerging authors and their sponsors, for a “new art of the future.” These new self-proclaimed artists in the making are incapable of extracting a creation from their own approach or their enslavement to a promising computer. This shows the modesty, sensuality, quality, emotion, information, and knowledge emanating from these works, which are claimed only by inflated egos.
Serge’s images, whether stolen or posed, instinctive or worked, unbearable or melancholic, challenging or futile, all share one thing in common: photographic skill. How photographs of subjects of absolute banality become mirrors that cannot leave us indifferent, neither in reflection nor in emotion. The hierarchical construction of each image, its contrast adapted to the environmental conditions, always remains under the influence of the light, which seems to manifest itself in unison with the space-time of the work. The coherence of the image brings the poetry of everyday life, technically unreflective yet so vivid, to all of Serge’s images.
It is no accident that the shepherd boy became friends with the greatest creators and poets of literature, from René Char to Fernando Arrabal, from Philippe Jaccottet to Edmonde Charles Roux, from Bernard Noël to José Flore Tappy, from Michel Butor to Dominique Sampiero, etc.
His poetic wandering through the world of Sète, for what he announces as his last year in Arles, is no accident. One of the most brilliant press photographers of his generation is also a poetic author, accompanied and supported by his friends in his self-sacrifice.
Shame on this pedantic zany, a sort of administrative factory, which imposes on us a financial debauchery, with insipid results that leave our Serge Assier (whose character is certainly strong) in a profound solitude, off the beaten track.
If you come to Arles this year to see photographs, you must visit Serge Assier, in his exceptional exhibition, to understand what a photographic image is, on the one hand. On the other hand, an Encounter with this Man is always truly exceptional. The books he has written with his writer friends are numerous and accessible to all during the Rencontres.
Photography in Provence, Provence in Photography, is not to be missed under any circumstances. It’s completely free! Serge will be there in person all summer for his “farewell” to the Cité de l’Image.
Thierry Maindrault
Galerie Librairie Ephémère
14 rue Portagnel [near place Voltaire]
13200 ARLES [center city]
everydays from 09 am to 07 pm.
beginning July 05,2025 until September 25,2025.
06 19 92 49 24
