the essential
Director Grégori Baquet looks back on the friendship between his father and the timeless photographer Robert Doisneau.
“I only selected around twenty photos for this exhibition, but my mother has a whole stock of archives at home!” With a sparkling eye, Grégori Baquet walks back and forth between the photos hanging in the entrance hall of the Nouveau Théâtre du Jour. The “Doisneau-Baquet” exhibition brings together two great friends until March 22, the historical photographer and the multi-talented musician and actor, father of Grégori.
Photo – Laurana Cazeneuve
The two friends had released a book entitled “Ballade for cello and dark room”. Sound and image, brought together this time on the walls of the theater. Sound, image, and movement through Grégori Baquet, director and actor constantly in the action. As a director, this is also the case for Robert Doisneau.
“He constructed his photos,” says Grégori, “in the sense that he often asked people to replay for him an exchange, a movement that they had just made. This is the story behind the famous kissing photo at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. He saw this couple kissing, and he asked them if they could reenact the scene for him for the photo! »
Waiting for the perfect moment
Maurice Baquet with Manhattan in the background, or buried under a meter of snow and looking for the keys to his car… Some of the images (only one is in color) almost look like montages. This is perhaps where the magic of Robert Doisneau lies, an architect of the image capable of waiting indefinitely for the perfect moment to activate the camera. “It had to be right. If it wasn’t worth it, it wasn’t worth it. »
Grégori admits a weakness for the photo of his father sheltering his cello under his umbrella. “I saw her very often. It became a postcard that could be found in second-hand booksellers and press houses… If you look closely at it, you will notice a painter in the background. This gives substance to the legend that even in rainy weather, nothing stops art! »
The story of these images is that of two great friends discussing, remaking the world, telling each other about their lives. “They made up stories, like kids. Simplicity was their watchword. They had a slightly melancholy smile, but wanted to keep the good side of humans. »
The musician’s life told in photos
The anecdotes are numerous. Visiting master, Grégori takes pleasure in bringing back to life the moments experienced in his childhood. “Robert was my brother Stéphane’s godfather, he often came to the house. My brother still has the Leica camera that Robert used. Once, he made a short film, which was never released… I acted in it, and it worked the same way as with his photos: he waited for the right moment. It could last a very long time… With the cellist Maurice Baquet as the common thread, Doisneau recounts a whole life.
Swiss
