VARIATIONS OF LIGHT OPUS 7 | QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT

Variations of Light opus 7 | Quantum entanglement (2024) detail
[Click to enlarge image]

This work is the fruit of a reflection developed for a project of three exhibitions (2024〜2025) by UNESCO’s CNFAP [Conseil National Français des Arts Plastiques] as part of its “Dialogues” program, conducted in close collaboration with the CIAE [Center for research on art and the environment] of the UPV [Polytechnic University of Valencia] , two entities dedicated to the creation and dissemination of the visual arts.

AVANT LA LETTRE ” is the title of the theme of this interdisciplinary exhibition, which expresses the concept of the project.

「 We want to take the lead on something that’s not yet defined. The point is to establish a relationship between what is written and its visual representation. In the same way that the avant-garde introduced words and typography as plastic elements in artistic work.  
With this intention, we will link this project with that one: 
“Artistic narrative as integral to a message. Connections between contemporary artists who use words”.
The theme of this exhibition implies the use of words and letters in the work, as carriers of a conceptual or visual message, or as a plastic element in itself, in order to convey a message “avant la lettre”.
 」
Curator

THE PROJECT

The artist will create two original works.

・Artwork n°1 :
Visual or conceptual representation of a word that may or may not appear written in the work. This will be a free-format work, inspired by the proposed theme, ranging in size from 20 to 120 cm high and 20 to 70 cm wide. Depending on the exhibition space, this work will be exhibited alongside the second or placed separately. The two works should form a coherent whole.

・Work #2:
Visual or conceptual representation of a letter. This second work is in the imposed A5 format in the horizontal direction, whose image could be smaller in size or occupy the entire surface of the paper. The support will always be flexible, as for the first work.

The first of the three exhibitions will take place at
La Casa de la Cultura José Peris Aragó
in the Alboraya district of Valencia (Spain)
from November 15 to December 13, 2024

Variations of Light opus 7 | Quantum entanglement (2024) : Kakemono Washi Kozo 42 x 21 cm and Plexiglas A5 [Click to enlarge image]

Opus 7 of my Variations of Light is born under the sign of quantum entanglement

This diptych is an interactive installation featuring a Japanese paper kakemono and printed transparent Plexiglas, which interact with each other and the viewer.

These two objects can be placed one on top of the other, next to each other, or separately in space. 

Entanglement is the title of this opus 7, and in quantum mechanics means, and I quote:
” Entanglement, or quantum entanglement, is a phenomenon in which two particles form a linked system and exhibit quantum states dependent on each other, regardless of the distance separating them. “

Variations of Light opus 7 
[Click to enlarge image]
Variations of Light opus 7 
[Click to enlarge image]

The space between the two components of the work is the energy they emit between them, as if we had on one side the energy of the word, the signifier and the meaning, and on the other the energy of the letter, which in its uniqueness takes on another meaning that echoes that of the word. 

In this installation, the letter “O” sits perfectly at the center of the word “HEART”, but also anywhere in the space. It’s the viewer who, by simply moving the Plexiglas, will feel the energy change as the two components move apart.  

In this installation, polysemy adds an unexpected depth to the meaning of the signifier and, by analogy, also expresses the “CHORUS”, i.e. the architectural heart of a place of belief, where the ” BEING”, since the most ancient times, has come in search of that oneness with the cosmos. 

This installation also shows that thought, before it expresses itself in letters and words, is also a form of light writing, a primary but not primitive form of writing. 

WHEN BLACK REVEALS LIGHT

zz blog: When blacks reveal light © Éric Petr
Photography © Éric Petr [click on the image to enlarge it]

In my work, light is not always the source of its presence.

It’s also a reflection on the light that leads me to construct images, which by its absence, calls out to us in our confrontation with nothingness.

It is these deep blacks that reveal her, as much as our eye can become accustomed to restoring her presence in the evanescent appearance of forms produced by our mind.

zz blog: When blacks reveal light © Éric Petr
Photography © Éric Petr [click on the image to enlarge it]

In today’s world, we prefer images that are easy to read, without having to make the effort to understand or analyze them.

Yet, as Gustave Flaubert said, “For something to be interesting, you have to look at it for a long time.”

zz blog: When blacks reveal light © Éric Petr
Photography © Éric Petr [click on the image to enlarge it]

My images ask the viewer to linger.

Look closely at these images. They’ll reveal their secrets.
There are multiple levels of interpretation.

The photographs are taken in such a way that shapes and silhouettes seem to move under the effect of our retina. Details change too, depending on the angle of view or the focus of our eye.

Perception therefore changes, depending on how we look at it, how bright it is, how much attention or concentration we bring to it, and the state of mind we’re in when we look at the image.

zz blog: When blacks reveal light © Éric Petr
Photography © Éric Petr [click on the image to enlarge it]

A LONG-TERM CURRICULUM…

Le Lavandou 1980’s © Éric Petr | Nikon F3, film Kodak

These photographs, taken with a Nikon F3, mounted with a Nikkor 50mm f1.4 or 105mm f2.5 lens and Kodak film, bear witness to my highly creative period in the ’80s.
They show, in successive order: the beach at Le Lavandou, the outside fire escape at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and a broken window in the former wasteland of Les Halles de la Villette in Paris.

The first silver photograph was a precursor to the work I’m still doing today.
Taken at night, on the beach at Le Lavandou, with an exposure time of around 15 minutes, and shot at 720°, it recreates the electromagnetic atmosphere of a vacation and party spot, its beach, the black reflections of the sea and the rolling of the waves, the lights of boats, stars, the moon, coastal lighthouses and bars still barely lit.

A LONG-TERM COURSE… “who goes slowly, goes healthily”!

I took up photography in 1983, and spent ten passionate years with the idea of developing research and aesthetics based on “pure” light, and the impact it can have on our mind, our thoughts, or our perception of the universe.

The research I had begun on this subject was halted in 1993 by the upheaval caused by  the arrival of digital technology in the world of photography.

It wasn’t until 10 years later, in 2003, after giving a great deal of thought to the image, its role and its power, that I took up this reflection and work again, using two media: digital and film photography.

In 2013, I opted to set up a company to develop this work over the long term.

Today, I exhibit and show my work in Paris, Europe and abroad.

Are you interested in following my work, discovering my new creations, and receiving invitations to my openings?
You can register at this link: https: //www.ericpetr.net/contact/

Les Halles de la Villette Paris 1980’s © Éric Petr | Nikon F3, film Kodak

THE NAKANO NEBUTA FESTIVAL OF AOMORI

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric Petr Web
Photographs from the heart of the Matsuri © Éric Petr, 2023
Nikon Df & Nikkor H85mm f1.8

青森ねぶた祭 | Aomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23

These images were created at the heart of the Nebuta Matsuri held in Nakano in October 2023.

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri is a major festival in the Tōhoku region, designated as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. 

It is an incredible parade of costumed dancers (haneto 跳人), taiko 太鼓 players and huge floats, shimmering in color and lit up at night.

As a sign of support for this region of northeastern Japan, which was devastated by the terrible earthquake of 2011, Nakano Town Hall in Tōkyō has been organizing its own festival since 2012 under the name “Nakano Festival to Support Tōhoku”, where Aomori’s Nebuta Matsuri takes place in October every year.

“It is a wave that you feel deep inside your body. The drums beating with all their power, the crowd in effervescence, the colorful dances, sometimes jerky and sometimes delicate, the flute tunes that pierce this orderly din, everything is so energetic that the senses are sucked into this whirlwind of fervor. In the midst of this bubbling, it seems as if this visual and sonic material is melting together.
Letting myself be carried along by the current of this lively crowd, I try to capture, with my camera, this exaltation, this bubbling mass of individuals gathered for this marvelous festival. Here and there, with long breaths from my shutter, I record faces, hands, colors, dancers, percussionists in action, and all this visual material accumulates in successive layers on my sensor, like those of a painter on his canvas, to restore all the density and depth of the scene.

These eighteen photographs are excerpts from the sixty that tell the poetic story of Aomori’s Nebuta Matsuri.

You can enlarge the image by zooming[Ctrl] and [+]

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric PetrAomori Nebuta Matsuri 2o23 © Éric Petr

CONTEMPORARY ARTWORKS IN ANTIQUE FRAMES

Blog Antique Artworks | Éric Petr
[0x18CBA3] Metamorphoses © Éric Petr

Contemporary artworks framed in antique frames

Some of my photographic works are intended for framing in old frames. I like to associate the timeless value of my works with a time in history that the frame evokes.

For exemple, this photograph was taken in the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in San Sebastian, in Spain.
When I take photographs in spiritual places, I often see angels or mythical creatures appear in my images. The long exposure times allow the invisible to record on the films in my cameras.  For example, in this photograph, a Phoenix is flying. The Phoenix is a bird from Greek mythology that by its power is reborn from its ashes after being consumed in the flames. It symbolizes the cycles that punctuate life, death and resurrection. It is also called the firebird. 

Title: [0x18CBA3] Metamorphoses, 2012
Printing: Limited Edition #1 of 3  (+ 1 AP)
Paper: Hahnemühle Glossy Fine Art Baryta Satin 300g
Size of the printed image: 9x14cm

Frame: Napoleon 3 (19th century) picture frame with beveled glass with a nice decoration of a golden ribbon (9x16cm x2cm 264g) 
In this photo, a Phoenix flies ♪ (‘θ `) ノ ☆☆ 〜

French Antique & Art gallery

This is a French antique gallery and shop on the Etsy site which offers a selection of my photographic works presented in very beautiful old frames.
Etsy guarantees the transaction and the quality of the shops it hosts and from which it also draws its reputation as the world’s leading merchant site for small designers and artisans.

TrAVerSéE2nUiT 2oo4

TrAveRséE2nUiT | 36.864 pixels © Éric Petr

TrAVerSéE2nUiT 2oo4, a net artwork in 36 poses

TrAVerSéE2nUiT which in French translates as Traversée de Nuit means in English A night crossing.

This net art photographic project, of 36,864 pixels and composed of 36 views of 1024 pixels scrolling to the rhythm of a crossing of the Mediterranean Sea under a grazing moonlight, is the evocation for the art of photography, of the end of the era of film and the appearance of that of digital; a violent fracture which already announces the death of a technology but which opens up infinite possibilities despite a quality much lower than that of film.
Comment by Éric Petr in 2004

http://www.pozekafee.net/eric.petr/traversee2nuit/

To view all the images on the website, please scroll them to the right with your mouse.
Have a good crossing!