The history of the city of Reims is embodied in a number of extraordinary landmarks and in architectural details. The façade of Notre-Dame Cathedral is a true open-air museum of sculpture: one appreciates at first glance the diverse inspirations behind this anonymous masterpiece. By contrast, few are aware how much the city and its treasures have been scarred by the Great War in the early twentieth-century: the devastation was such that Reims was nicknamed the “martyred city.” A prolonged period of complex reconstruction followed, which deliberately preserved some traces of the conflict.
Today, Reims heritage is recognized and celebrated by an institution that ranks it among humanity’s most precious assets. To highlight this celebration on the occasion of the Heritage Days, the city has chosen photography to accomplish a manifold mission: offer new perspectives on its architecture, museums, their interiors and their collections, as well as those of religious monuments; retrace and reinterpret ancient and modern history, without forgetting the individuals and personalities who bring this heritage to life on a daily basis. In Reims, this does not imply only historical or religious facts; nor is the mission limited to the built heritage: it also covers industries, such as Champagne wines which are closely tied to the local economy.
To address the desire to reassess the city and to elicit unexpected and original responses, an invitation was extended to photographers for whom Reims would become a true discovery as well as a visual and intellectual adventure. They were encouraged to take a personal approach while respecting the boundaries of a geographical and historical territory, without however an imposition of a predefined inventory. Their varied backgrounds and careers, as well as their culture and sensibilities have allowed for contrasting and complementary visions. The five photographers, whose projects are carriers of contemporary forms and reflection, have each crisscrossed the city and met with persons professionally engaged with Reims’ cultural and historical heritage; they have explored the urban landscape and the most prominent structures, as well as some of the city’s hidden, or even buried, facets: in Reims, underground galleries are repositories of unparalleled treasures.
Jodi Bernardó applied his attention to exploring a wide range of settings in Reims, including the deep chambers of the chalk quarries: he contemplated the details of a reality only he was able to perceive and insightfully portray. Arno Gisinger plumbed the depths of the city’s history in multiple locations; he strove to revive the memory of a number of key episodes in the life the city’s cultural patrimony. Claudio Sabatino set historical monuments in a modern urban context and, with an architect’s eye, developed a walking tour from the foot of Notre-Dame Cathedral to the Chemin Vert district. Paolo Verzone manufactured in situ portraits of persons whose lives and activities are in various ways intertwined with the destiny of the cultural heritage. The fifth photographer, Sophie Zénon, focused her lens on the storage rooms of the Palais du Tau, breathing life, in a magical moment of photographic inscription, into the numerous statues housed in these halls.
Each photographic series thus decodes the city in a singular way, more or less explicitly evoking its history, as well as confronting the very notion of heritage, among others, with the idea of “legacy” (survivance), to borrow the term from the title of François Barré’s contribution to the exhibition catalog.
Gabriel Bauret, artistic director of the project and exhibition curator
Exhibition:
Patrimoines Revisités
From September 17 to December 31, 2016
Cellier de Reims
Catalog:
Reims, le regard de cinq photographes
€ 20
ISBN: 978-2-919507-57-3
