RIP Christian Boltanski
“One thing that really irritates me is that a large portion of art today doesn’t talk about life, butinstead talks about art. A whole segment of what’s being created, especially in recent years, is just quotations of art or reflections on art, but I don’t find it interesting. I see no emotion in that.” – Christian Boltanski
Christian Boltanski died today. There’s a lengthy obituary in Le Monde (French language), which provides ample details of his life and work (and status in France).
I remember recommending his work to students when I taught at that MFA program I was part of. I don’t think anyone actually ever looked at him. From what I could gather, my colleagues weren’t interested in Boltanski, either. Very strange. The reality is that Boltanski’s work can teach you more about photography and what it means for us than most other artists can.
If you don’t know much about this artist, The Possible Life of Christian Boltanski is a superb start. It’s a long conversation in book form, and it dives deeply into his life and ideas. Best of all, it’s not only incredibly fascinating, it’s also often outright funny. If you’ve never read it, get yourself a copy and dive in. You’re not going to regret it.
RIP Christian Boltanski.