Guy Bourdin
1928 - 1991Nude Story in Dark Room (Arrival), 1971
Credited, dated and annotated "Vintage" in an unidentfied hand in pencil on verso
Vintage Silver Gelatin Print
34,4 x 29,9 cm
The composition and painterly colours of Bourdin's photography bear witness to his passion for painting and storytelling. By virtue of these passions his photography reveals a phantasy world full of...
The composition and painterly colours of Bourdin's photography bear witness to his passion for painting and storytelling. By virtue of these passions his photography reveals a phantasy world full of the intrigue and glamorous yet strange beauty of unknown stories, the fragmentary chapters of which are left for the viewer to assemble as they see fit. "Asleep, Awakening" and "Egg's Arrival", the photographs that compose the series "Nude in Dark Room", may be viewed separately but are best viewed together.
The series reveals the painter's eye of Bourdin for there is a mysterious story that is emphasized by the use of shades and tones of black and white. In "Arrival", the female body takes the position of a bird laying an egg. In this way "Arrival" refers to an absurd but sublime birth. The woman has not, however, given birth to a child but the light in concrete form. This is the very same light that in "Awakening" hovered above her in the form of an orb descending and infusing the woman's body with itself. The resemblance between the shapes of the darkness-covered bottom and the light-egg convince the eye that these two things are related and reflect each other. The focus of the viewer's eye is, nevertheless, fixed more on the egg, the centre of the image.
Along with his use of intense light saturation and textures, the dramatic accents in the Bourdin's series "Nude Story in Dark Room" engage the mind as well as the eye.
© Cigdem Mirol
The series reveals the painter's eye of Bourdin for there is a mysterious story that is emphasized by the use of shades and tones of black and white. In "Arrival", the female body takes the position of a bird laying an egg. In this way "Arrival" refers to an absurd but sublime birth. The woman has not, however, given birth to a child but the light in concrete form. This is the very same light that in "Awakening" hovered above her in the form of an orb descending and infusing the woman's body with itself. The resemblance between the shapes of the darkness-covered bottom and the light-egg convince the eye that these two things are related and reflect each other. The focus of the viewer's eye is, nevertheless, fixed more on the egg, the centre of the image.
Along with his use of intense light saturation and textures, the dramatic accents in the Bourdin's series "Nude Story in Dark Room" engage the mind as well as the eye.
© Cigdem Mirol