Claire Barthelemy

Issah’s story

clairebarthelemy — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:47:36 +0000

Stories out of Africa are almost always negative and depressing and it makes you wonder if photographers even try to find a positive angle. I used to admire James Nachtwey when I started out as a photojournalist, but now when I look back at some of his work, all I can see is black and white pictures of people dying. Yes, his stories are important and I do respect his work, but his pictures just petrify me. They seem to be saying that all is doomed anyway. Check out his work on the extremely drug-resistant TB. I couldn’t even finish watching the video.

However, I watched Emily Macinnes‘ piece about Issah, a visually impaired Ghanaian who receives life changing eye treatment, a few times already. I think the pictures and the music work very well together, and the fact that Issah gets to express himself makes this work very moving. Most importantly, it doesn’t make me want to stop watching halfway through and for an NGO, which relies on people’s support, that’s essential.

Photography and local history

clairebarthelemy — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:05:47 +0000

Moving to a new area is exciting. When we moved to Brockley in South East London, I didn’t know anything about the area, except that it is quite underrated and many people have never heard of it. When I went for a walk to explore my new neighbourhood, I found a nice little bakery, a few cozy coffee places and plenty of restaurants.

But to my disappointment, I couldn’t find any local cinema.
Turns out I am about 50 years late, because that’s when many old cinemas in the area were destroyed.

I found this on the blog of Brockley Jack Film Club, who gathered archive pictures of local cinemas and pasted them onto pictures of today. I find the result completely shocking, not necessarily because of the change itself, but because almost all the streets changed for the worse! It really pains me to see how many of these old buildings have disappeared and I wonder how local people, who still remember them, feel about these changes. This is a trend which is happening in many places.

I always liked collage and I really like how using archival material in this project makes these seemingly boring street views suddenly burst with nostalgia.

You can see the results for yourself, more pictures here.

Eros Cinema in Catford, demolished in 1960

New Cross Empire, closed in 1954, demolished later

The Ritz in Brockley, demolished in 1960 (this is actually just around the corner from where I live now)

I remember seeing more and more beautiful old buildings being demolished my home country (Luxembourg). It would be interesting to start documenting this change before it’s all gone.

Presenting Pal Jr.

clairebarthelemy — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:10:48 +0000

I love buying old, crummy cameras.

I found this one ~~at the Kingsland Waste in the East End (if I remember correctly), a name that really fits this flea market~~ somewhere in Shoreditch.

So let me introduce you to Pal Jr, Leica’s wannabe brother of another mother (see the red logo thing?).

I took it for a few shots in the tube, and I quite like the results (the camera cost me 2 quid, so the bar was quite low;)

Here’s the little bad boy:

Just Kids and good reads

clairebarthelemy — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:05:22 +0000

I’ve been reading lots of books since I graduated from my MA last month. The advantage of unemployment is time, so figured I’d use it by reading the books I’ve always wanted to read (and apply for jobs, ahem). I also have a little bit of a creative block, and I find literature often inspires me most for my photography.

So I’ve finished Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, which was incredible (and very accessible to my surprise) and I am now reading Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, which is also quite entertaining (even if Emma hasn’t cheated yet). So after indulging myself in stories about murder and adultery, I thought I should read a biography, something I rarely do.

Patti Smith’s Just Kids was my choice and I was blown away. It is an incredible short biography for someone who’s an artist, activist, author, poet and – uh probably the most raw female live performers ever, but it works incredibly well. The reason for this is that she writes about authors and musicians that influenced her rather than describing a career. Her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe obviously plays a big part of the book and the way she writes about her lover/best friend is incredibly moving. I am not into the hippie culture and never was, but Smith’s description of life in the 60′s and 70′s is very revealing, as she witnessed the most famous figures in poetry and music as they either rose to fame or destroyed themselves slowly.

Patti and Robbie looking very bohemian on a fire escape

Patti Smith comes across very humble and sensitive, her style is beautifully poetic and very rhythmic. I think being broke in 2011 in London is half as romantic as being broke in New York in the Seventies, but I can relate to quite a few things Smith is describing (especially about staying home, playing the guitar, reading for hours and being silly with that special one).

As for photography, the book wasn’t that inspiring in a technical way (I am not a big fan of Mapplethorpe) and also a bit depressing for a job seeking photographer (to succeed one basically needs a super rich sugar daddy), but very inspiring in the way that Smith and Mapplethorpe never gave up on their creative drive, always looked for new creative challenges and were never apologetic about their art. As soon as I had put down the book I felt like going out and just snap away spontaneously without being too concerned about concepts.

So if you are looking for a book about how to make it as an artist/poet/musician or photographer, buy some other boring book. If you want to indulge yourself in a personal and moving story about best friends and you want to be inspired while being broke, then get Just Kids!

And if you have a best friend, buys her/him this biography. I got it from my very best friend, and it made reading this book even more special for me. You know who you are!;)

And now two of the best opening lyrics in rock history.

Documentary and Fiction

clairebarthelemy — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 01:16:57 +0000

I just came across David Gray’s The Dream That Days Break, a boxset compiled of four different series: Vampire, Surge, The Dream That Days Break and Thunderbolts Way. The work was shot in different countries and while it is (to me) a work of fiction, there is a documentary value to it. Vampire, which is shot in Romania, portrays the country’s poverty stricken youth without really making a point about the poverty part. Could it be called subjective documentary photography? I really like the mood that comes across, and I really like the concept of the work. The fact that Gray commissioned himself to do these series is quite fascinating to me, as I really like to work independently and the idea of planning a project like that really appeals to me.

from Vampire by David Gray

Another project I came across in my recent dive into the blogosphere is Mariken Wessels’ Queen Ann. P.S. Belly Cut Off. An intriguing title and a very interesting concept: according to Eyecurious, “This is not a photobook in the conventional sense, but rather an artist book that makes use of photography to create a character.” The many snapshots and doodles might not necessarily create a coherent story but remind the viewer of the effect these seemingly random documents can have on us. Snapshots are the documents of our lives and even if they are from people we don’t know and even when there is no apparent story, the sight of them moves us.

from Queen Ann. P.S. Belly cut off by Mariken Wessels

Protected: Recent project

clairebarthelemy — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 19:53:25 +0000

This post is password protected. You must visit the website and enter the password to continue reading.

What’s left of my old car

clairebarthelemy — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:52:10 +0000

I miss my car.

Summer=bummer

clairebarthelemy — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:58:38 +0000

Lately my mind has been busy switching moods every 10 minutes, so I suppose that is why I don’t feel inspired to do anything at all at the moment. Here are some of my last pictures anyway.

memories linked to specific places

No matter how familiar the train route, there’s always something new to see

4 people, 21 hedges (corrections welcome)

familiarity

Taxidermy

Construction layers

feeling under the weather?

Electrifying

happy times, silly o’clock

celebrities are spying on us.

Armpits in your face

Falling down actually feels good for a moment.

24hour Minicab

clairebarthelemy — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:13:26 +0000

My latest project. For better quality visit Vimeo.

On the road, molto moderato

clairebarthelemy — Sun, 16 May 2010 21:03:41 +0000

This is a selection of pictures I took for Lëtzebuerger Land while following the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra on their UK tour.

Does that mean I was embedded? Whatever it’s called, looking back at it, it was not just work, but something like a spiritual experience. Before you think “why does she go all hippie on us now?”, you need to understand that I was travelling mostly alone and had an hotel room for myself. So all I did was shooting, writing and being drowned in this amazing music (especially Grieg’s piano concerto stayed in my mind during the whole trip, scroll down to hear it).

Coming back home felt like waking up from a dream and i realized that this whole experience really recharged my batteries…and made me (re)discover calssical piano music. So yeah, the whole thing just hit me like a big fat inspirational hammer.

Scroll to the end to see Jean-Yves Thibaudet’s amazing performance of Grieg’s piano concerto that I was lucky enough to see twice. Mindblowing!

Rehearsal

Concert

Wrapping up.

Off to the next stop.

Here’s what was being played: