Since October 25, 2024 and for almost a year, liners will be in the spotlight at the Musée d’arts de Nantes then at the MuMa in Le Havre with the exhibition Paquebots 1913-1942. Une esthétique transatlantique which features photographs by Roger Schall.
To understand the photographs of photo reporters of the past, even if they were partly our contemporaries, it is important to situate the context of their time and the objects of the work. We leave in the first part of the twentieth century, between the two great European wars. Mastery of the seas has become (once again in History) essential in the era of socio-political colonizations, economic rapprochements and the industrial and scientific acceleration of achievements. Speed wins letters of nobility. The crossing of the Atlantic is the benchmark of the power and pride of a nation. An undeniable phenomenon until its tangible replacement by aeronautical ballets, around 1960. Maritime navigation garnered the work of a country’s elite engineers, budding artists and intellectuals. The fight for first place on the podium was chivalrous; but, very rough.
Obviously, the beginnings of the development of communication for the greatest number could not ignore this honorary struggle par excellence. It is in this context that Roger Schall was entrusted with covering the liner Normandie in images. From the ship’s finishing touches in Saint-Nazaire to its glorious entry into the port of New York (with the fastest crossing of the moment), our photographer became one with this legendary boat with an eventful history.
Subject requires, for Roger, it was out of the question to send his constituents photographs of “gazettes”. He aesthetically prefers the creative trends of this period very oriented towards Decorative Art. His camera gets carried away with unorthodox framing, mass compositions, unusual shooting angles, graphic connections borrowed from characteristic design. The photographic image no longer tells something, it provokes feelings which project the reader into history, into an atmosphere and into an imagination. Two-step photography: a subject, a photographer; becomes, under the lens of Roger Schall, an image in three stages: a subject, a photographer, a reader.
It is interesting to note that the transatlantic maritime history of this era was reconstructed in the Nantes Museum of Arts, and then transported to the MuMa in Le Havre. The numerous photographs by Roger Schall, concerning the Normandie, are obviously at this “rendez-vous”.
Thierry Maindrault
EXHIBITIONS
Paquebots 1913-1942.
Une esthétique transatlantique
from October 25, 2024 until February 23, 2025
open Wednesday to Monday from 11:00 am to 07:00 pm
Musée d’Art de Nantes
10 rue Georges Clémenceau
44000 Nantes
https://museedartsdenantes.nantesmetropole.fr/
Paquebots 1913-1942.
Une esthétique transatlantique
from April 26, 2025 until September 21, 2025
open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 am to 06:00 pm
MuMa du Havre
2 boulevard Clémenceau
76600 Le Havre
https://www.muma-lehavre.fr/
