People. Not Pages: Philippe Ciaparra
With the “People. Not Pages” mini-interview series The Phooks invites you to learn more about people who stand behind the medium of self- & indie-published photobooks, and zines.
As soon as I hear something like “My work is not spectacular and I do not take photographs to please” from a photographer, I expect to see photos which will make me sit with them for some time to calmly watch, feel and think.
I wouldn’t claim this is a rule, but such an attitude towards the artist’s own work could clearly mean you talk to someone with a very strong and personal belief, a vision, and the deepest dedication, strong emotional connection to what they create. For me, the words “not to please” mean “for myself”, for the sake of personal interest. Where this interest lies — in emotions, the subject, or aesthetics? Will your interests match, will this work touch you? These are always intriguing questions to discover.
Looking at Philippe's “Paysages & Transfiguration” book previews (yes, I don’t have a copy yet), I feel exactly this way: the photographs made outside of a genre or particular style constraints, all together create this very immersive atmosphere. Is it spectacular or not — depends on a personal taste, but intriguing at no doubt.
But remember, right now we’re talking about a person, not pages.
Let’s greet Philippe Ciaparra.
How do you live and make your living?
I have been working as a fashion and portrait photographer since I arrived in Paris in 1995. I worked for various fashion magazines and produced ready-to-wear catalogs.
In recent years, I diversified my activity toward the institutional sector. The representation of my palladium prints at Atelier Demi-Teinte and my exhibition at k éditeur gallery in 2017–2018 in Paris motivated me to become more and more immersed in extremely personal work.
How did you get into photography?
As far as I can remember, I have always been doing photography.
There was a time I photographed the night sky in long exposures on a tripod that created white circles in the black sky, I was a child at that time and did not understand what how it came about.
Later, around the age of 14 I believe, I understood that photography was going to be the center of my life because photographing had become a natural gesture for me.
Later still, I started earning a living from wedding photography. Following that, I then worked in tourist centers, photographing families on vacation, which was a great school because you learn to work quickly and well.
Years later, as I started asking serious questions, I realized that the photographs of my personal work would have a different function than simply showing reality; they would be a mirror of my inner world.
What do you value the most in the art of photography?
To look at a photograph can be something extremely powerful because each of us can form our own opinion and indulge in our reflections for as long as we want. A photograph can leave you with a far more vivid memory than the hundreds of images of a long documentary that you see on your television with passive attention over a relatively short time.
In fact, I love discovering the universe of a photographer and find my way in his world.
Is there something you hate about it?
It is more and more unbearable for me to see inkjet prints in galleries, and worse, in some museums. The place of printing, by definition, of ink on paper, is in books, magazines, or in advertising images. I am willing to admit that this is a very effective new technology and almost unescapable now, but as successful as it is, the inkjet print remains a vulgar imitation of a traditional print and will never have the nobility and the magic of silver or a precious metal print.
I am afraid that in a few years’ time, by dint of slipping into the virtual without actually realizing it, there will be nothing left but an image on a screen.
The ‘photograph as object’ will no longer have a meaning, except for a few true collectors who will continue to appreciate these beautiful objects and the pleasure of touching them. Over and above the fact that the price of these ersatz prints in certain galleries is unbelievable.
How many books do you have and what does your collection mean to you?
I have a good fifty books that I do not really consider to be a collection.
This is a small number compared to a true collection that could hold several hundred books.
My books are of photographers I love, or whose photographs take me on a journey. I keep their entire universe available with me at all times.
Is there a photobook you admire? and why?
“A box of ten photographs” by Diane Arbus.
by Diane Arbus. Image source.
It is not strictly speaking a photography book but a collection of ten silver prints made in the 1970s partly by Neil Selkirk.
I only have the magnificent facsimile of 2018 and I will never tire of looking at it, as the photographs of this immense photographer are so fascinating.
What should a book have to get into your collection?
A book should be an object, pleasant to look at and to touch and, although this is very subjective, the photographs should be powerful.
My choice of a book is based on the importance of a photographer and on what he contributed to the history and development of photography.
What does it mean to you to turn your work into a sensible form of a book or a zine? Tell us based on your latest project.
The process of selecting and composing 50 photographs, among the thousands available, was a long, tedious and thankless job. As we all know, it is extremely difficult to make these choices.
At the beginning of this process, the recurring question was, to tell my story or to make a collection of purely descriptive photographs. Either way, I feel it to be the end of one adventure and especially the start of another, which I am sure, will be even more wonderful.
What you expect people should feel when opening your book?
I hesitated for a long time to make a book because I did not understand why a photography lover would be interested in the strictly personal work of a photographer.
My work is not spectacular and I do not take photographs to please. Despite that, if I can make a person paging through my book to dream and if he is receptive to my twilight universe, I would finally have the answer to this question that has long occupied me, namely: why make a book.
Get a copy of “Paysages & Transfiguration” and watch a video on the website:
— Read all “People. Not Pages” mini-interviews
— Go to The Phooks library
