Philippe Ciaparra

Interview

Version française

Interview by Jean-Christophe Krafft

Jean-Christophe Krafft
In your opinion, the importance of a photographer is based on his ability to arouse emotion?

Philippe Ciaparra
The will of the photographic act is closely linked to that of attaining a feeling of amazement but it does not stop there. The photographer's ability to produce throughout his career mythical photographs, witnesses of a bygone era, of a major period of history or of a significant stylistic break, is decisive for him being classified as a major photographer. But emotion is the goal of all outstanding photographs.
J-C. K.
Can you describe the style and universe of your own work?
P. C.
It is a delicate exercise to talk about one’s own photographs, particularly if it comes from deep inside. I think it is not reasonable for a photographer to try to explain anything. I leave that to art critics or historians; some have done it magnificently...
J-C. K.
…I apologize for being insistent and there is probably some truth in what you say, but each photographer must be capable of a minimum of explanation in what led him to take photographs; could you describe your photographic approach.
P. C.
There is no systematic approach in my photographs. I do not claim affiliation to any movement. I try to find a consistency based on the equilibrium of shapes and on the rapport between volumes. With light, I write an inner feeling faced with a given situation. Around the age of eight or nine years, I realized that photography was for me a natural thing that made me happy, so I studied it in depth and I my time doing it.
J-C. K.
What do you see and feel when you take a photograph?
P. C.
I see places and shapes. I try to organize them in my own way to finally create a world of my own, that perhaps only I can see, understand and master. I sometimes slip into a degree of abstraction, with the hope of making it all eternal.
J.-C. K.
There is a recurring element in your photographs, the virtual absence of humanity. Would you one day like to find yourself alone in the world?
P. C.
I do not know, perhaps? But then, who will look at my pictures? Contrary to my work as a fashion photographer and a portraitist, the presence of human beings does not interest me in my personal creation.
J-C. K.
Why?
P. C.
Quite honestly I do not know. They do not attract me, that is all.
J-C. K.
For whom are you photographing?
P. C.
First of all for myself, then for others.
J-C. K.
Who are the others?
P. C.
People that love photography and that know how to look at it.
J-C. K.
What is photography?
P. C.
It is a personal point of view on something, photographed and transferred onto a receptive surface.
J-C. K.
What is a good photograph?
P. C.
It is a photograph, which, by its technical merit, its content and its emotional charge, will inspire you to reflect and perhaps even change the course of your life.
J-C. K.
Have you had teachers, which are the photographers that fascinate you?
P. C.
At the age of thirteen or fourteen years, when the time came to explain my reason for being, I knew that photography, which was becoming the driving force of my life, was a good way to reach my goals. Naturally, I developed and interest in its history and in those who did it. I was captivated by the work of portrait photographers of the nineteenth century, Julia Margaret Cameron, for example. Later my interest was aroused for pictorial photographers, from Alfred Stieglitz to Paul Strand. My curiosity then shifted to photographers like Edward Weston, Yousuf Karsh, Irving Penn, Diane Arbus and to the conceptual landscape photographers like Robert Adams, Frank Gohlke and Bernd and Hilla Becher. Henri Cartier-Bresson creation is almost unbelievable, it is in the nature of the miraculous. In my opinion, W. Eugene Smith remains the most extraordinary photographer of all  for the incredible evocative power and technical perfection of his photographs. I like all photographers can overwhelm you, but I do not think I have had a teacher.
J-C. K.
How do your photographic projects come about?
P. C.
In a desire to travel, to immerse myself in a new universe, which in turn becomes the photographs and the stories ...
J-C. K.
Your story?
P. C.
…naturally, my photographic work is related to my inner and personal life.
J-C. K.
What is your feeling about your work? Do you have an opinion about it?
P. C.
I have no opinion about my work. I like taking photographs, it makes me happy. I abstain from asking myself questions, except of a purely technical nature.
J-C. K.
It is an answer that has the advantage of being clear...
P. C.
…yes it holds in a little more than one line. I am indeed a fan of conciseness and clarity of text.
J-C. K.
Are there uncomfortable situations for you in your activity?
P. C.
Yes, being faced with people who claim to belong to the world of photography and who really have no place in it…
J-C. K.
It is not very pleasant to certain people who could be reading this?
P. C.
Each will recognize himself.
J-C. K.
What are the things that attract you?
P. C.
To make wise use of the beautiful seeing machine that we call our eyes.

Paris, November 3, 2009.