The great photographer František Zvardon, a close friend of Alsace where he felt so good, has just returned to the afterlife. He was 75 years old. Marc Chaudeur, who knew him well, tells us about his very rich personality.
We interviewed him on November 6, just before his disappearance. We have been collaborating for several months to produce a book dedicated to the countries of the Far North. A work that may never see the light of day. But František had just published a book devoted to photographs of Alsace. An astonishing and daring work
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This will be his last work, except for the other book that we created in collaboration in 2022 and which will appear in a few days in Paris: my translation of a great explorer of Greenland, Knud Rasmussen, with the magnificent photos of the artist of Czech origin.
František Zvardon, I had known him for a long time; but I wrote about his work from 2017 onwards.
In his production, Alsace plays a particular role, which is due to the place our region occupies in his biography. “Alsace, why and how? »: these are the basic questions I asked him, a few days before his disappearance.
Photo MC
France remained for me the country of artists, as it was perceived in Eastern countries. At the time, I believed that any Frenchman understood all the works of art shown to him, and all the books! But I didn't want to live in Paris. So I explored the somewhat peripheral countries: Belgium, Basel, and… Alsace. And there you have it: I settled there.
I felt good. Like in a nest. I have traveled a lot in my life with my devices. First book, in Spain. And then: the Middle East, for a long time, for my book on the Bible. And then the countries of the Far North, which I love. And Ethiopia, for my favorite book. But each time, what pleasure, what happiness to return to my nest, Alsace!
“Alsace, I never get bored there; I never wanted to leave her. It is of such beauty, and such variety! The autumns, the extraordinary colors of the Vosges, the Rhine Forest which looks so much like the Amazon, in summer, the ruins, the mists, the shades of summer, all this harmony. Everything is so rich here!
• Dear František, in this regard, your latest book is very special. Bold and astonishing…
• You are referring to my use of Artificial Intelligence… Yes, some protest, others are embarrassed…
My preference for landscapes comes from the fact that they confront us with what is most primitive; of what we carry within us, but which does not carry us. Of what is both internal and… foreign to us.
I always carry within me a vision of the landscape. The photo that I take is a meeting of this vision and the image in front of me. And AI allows me, in my opinion, to better translate my internal vision of Alsace. It is a technical means, that's all. We must not fear it, but use it skillfully, it allows broad propositions, doors open to dreams from the landscape. A refreshment of perception. It’s my Alsace that appears in Beyond Alsace, partly thanks to this use of AI.
It is true that the result, the photos in the book, admirably convey the joy, candor and freshness of František's gaze, a gaze present in all of this work which covers half a century.
Marc Chaudeur
Prepared a few months before his death, Tout une Vie, František Zvardon's last assessment exhibition, is being held at Apollonia, Strasbourg, until February 2, 2025.
Beyond Alsace, a journey between dream and reality, Edts La Nuée Bleue.
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