Meeting with photographer Pierre Dury | The soothing beauty of the faces

The faithful of Café Cherrier know the work of Pierre Dury without knowing it. His photos have adorned the walls of the legendary restaurant for decades. The close -up on a thoughtful René Lévesque is him. Diane Dufresne on a rock with an arc and arrows, it’s also him. Chloé Sainte-Marie nude Enlacing Gilles Carle, still him.

Posted at 8:15 a.m.

He received me in his apartment in Rosemont where he has lived for decades and where some parts serve as a workshop or studio. This is where countless personalities have paraded. And not the least. “John Christian came here. His driver was waiting for him in front of the house. »»

The pretext of this meeting is the publication of a magnificent album which brings together the photos of 175 personalities taken from the late 1960s. Diving in this book is to discover faces that are familiar to us from rarely offered angles.

For Pierre Dury, this prodigious career begins with training years at Notre-Dame College, then a visit to the School of fine Arts in Montreal. He feels paint. Passion is not really there.

He remembers Jean-Paul Mousseau who came to share his knowledge in Notre-Dame college. He meets it with the spathèque foam, a place whose astonishing decor springs from the bubbling creativity of the automation. Pierre Dury becomes Mousseau’s right arm. And also the dedicated DJ of this lain of night owls.

Thanks to the bartender of the spathèque foam, he explores photography. This is the click. When he sees the film Blow-Upfrom Michelangelo Antonioni, he discovers a romantic image of what he wants to become.

It is an intoxicating period marked by a series of photographs where female sensuality is honored. “It was all fine, all that, but it was not paying. He is engaged at Quebecor and becomes the photographer of Quebec stars.

At the turn of the 1970s, he met Diane Dufresne. The singer records her first 45 laps. In 1972, a bomb broke out. This is the publication of Hold on well I arrive!. Pierre Dury makes the cover. His name begins to resonate.

The one who admits without complex that he was never very good at juggling money becomes a photographer on the shooting sets. “It gave me $ 400 a day. In total, he will immortalize a hundred Quebec and foreign productions.

At that moment, her heart beats for a girl of wild beauty. Her name is Marjolaine Morin. She is not yet the one who will ignite Quebec scenes later by becoming the leader of the Corbeau group.

A little model, a little stylist, Marjo becomes Pierre Dury’s muse. He photographs her from all his seams. Marjo naked in a bathtub with a mask of clay in the face, Marjo with Diane Dufresne during a picnic, Marjo in a tiny shorts planted on high heels …

This love story lasts from 1974 to 1980, when Marjo joined the Corbeau group. “Our separation was so simple. One said, “I’m going to the right.” The other said, “I’m going to the left.” We kissed. We remained very close. We don’t spend a week without talking to each other. »»

In his book, the chapter called Fauaves hours Show us photos of Montreal nightlife in the late 1970s, a period that Pierre Dury lived thoroughly.

“I was going to the Night Magic [bar de la rue Saint-Paul] every evening. I knew everyone. »»

There are several Pierre Dury. But I admit that the portrait painter, the one whose light sculpts the faces, seduces me highly. Michel Chartrand, Raymond Lévesque, François Dompierre, Guy Latraverse, Robert Lepage, Paul Buissonneau, Armand Vaillancourt … All these sacred monsters abandoned themselves to his goal to offer the soothing beauty of their face.

“I decided to make portraits after the death of Maurice Richard. I made a list of 75 personalities. Of course, there have been refusals. One of these refusals came from Pierre Foglia that Pierre Dury would have liked to photograph on his bike. “I made a photo book on Marjo and I wanted to put one of his chronicles where he talks about her. He first accepted, then it became complicated. We ended up pissing off. »»

Pierre Dury has little regrets. But there is a photo he would have liked to take. She would have brought together Clémence Desrochers, Janette Bertrand and Françoise Sullivan. “I tried and it didn’t work. What a beautiful shot it would be. »»

It is fascinating to see how photographers develop various means to “seduce” their subjects. Pierre Dury’s approach is based on authenticity. “With Jean Christian, we talked about everything and nothing. I told him I had no memory. He told me that he too. I like people. A photographer must love people. »»

With this work, produced in self -publishing, Pierre Dury wants to leave a trace, his own, but also that of the dozens of personalities he has photographed in the past 60 years.

Few Quebec photographers can boast of having had so many legends in front of their lens.

“The thing would be difficult to envisage today. There are too many personalities. It happens every month. It is more difficult today to get in touch with the stars. In the past, a bottle of wine or a joint allowed you to establish a link. This is no longer the case today. »»

Before leaving him, I asked him if there was someone he would like to photograph again. “I don’t think like that. I like the present instant side of photography. It is a meeting that lasts an hour and a half. And during this time, I am in paradise. »»Consult the Pierre Dury website

Our free years 1968-2025

Pierre Dury

Self -publishing

Limited edition of 500 copies, signed and numbered
320 pages