Olivier Roller Explained

Olivier Roller
Birth Date:1972
Birth Place:Strasbourg
Occupation:French photographer

Olivier Roller (born 1972 in Strasbourg) is a French photographer based in Paris. He specializes in photographic portraits, and since 2009 he has been creating photographic frescos. The images are about figures of power and portraits of the "emperors of today", which he confronts and compares to the faces of the past, from antiquity to Napoleon.

Biography

After studying political science and law studies in Strasbourg, Olivier Roller became a photographer.

He describes power and influence in France in the beginning of the 21st century through the individuals who represent them (ministers, financiers, advertisers, media leaders…)

The beginnings

Olivier's first portrait was of his grandfather in 1994, in a very tight frame and devoid of artifices. The image urges the viewer to go beyond the clichés of the portrait: to smile, stand straight, be beautiful.

While he was still a student, he found his voice and a new means to communicate through photography. To find faces to photograph, he approached many writers and filmmakers who were promoting their work in bookstores and venues. This promptly lead to the press giving him assignments.

Jeanne Moreau

While on assignment, Oliver followed Jeanne Moreau to a film festival in Belgium. Back in Paris, he contacted her to ask if he could photograph her, but not for any specific reason. He wanted to move away from assignments and instead photograph the subjects more authentically and more realistically. This photograph is now the cover of the book Visage by Bruno Chibane, gathering 20 years of portraits of assignments of Olivier Roller.

Figures of power

In 2008, the Musée du Louvre gave him a carte blanche in the following terms: "Would you like to work on the equivalent of Sarkozy (the French president) and Fillon (Sarkozy's prime minister), 2000 years ago?". He spent every Tuesday (public closure’ day) for six months, all alone in the Gallery of Antiques.

In the following year, he set out to confront the faces of today's "emperors" (financiers, publicists, intellectuals, diplomats, politicians, etc.) with their counterparts of the past (from the Roman emperors to Napoleon). He contacts the men of power and proposes to them that they come to make a portrait in his studio, and to become a face hanging on the wall of an exhibition. This project is still in progress.

The influence of surfing

In the collective book West is the Best, Olivier Roller speaks about his surfing practice, that he compares to photography.

Being in the ocean, in the middle of the waves, allows him to not think but just be present. He describes this practice as "a symbolic vehicle for advancement" and explains that surfing has allowed him "to reach a certain animality" and "reconnect with reality.". Olivier Roller explains that he loves the shifting, unpredictable, and even disappointing side of surfing. The same applies to photography. He compares photography to the ocean: "It has nothing against you, but you will never be able to dominate it, you just have to be humble."

Exhibitions

Publications

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Exposition – Théâtre du pouvoir – Petite Galerie Musée du Louvre Paris. 2017-05-17. 2017-06-21. .
  2. Web site: Exposition de photos d'Olivier Roller – Palazzo Altemps – Spazio Nuovo . www.nuovimecenati.org. fr-FR. 2017-06-13.
  3. Web site: Le festival Croisements va de l'avant !. La France en Chine. fr. 2017-06-13.
  4. Web site: Oser la photographie : 50 ans d'une collection d'avant garde à Arles. Multimedia. Pôle Sud Production. www.museereattu.arles.fr. 2017-06-13.
  5. Web site: Mobilier national : Expositions / Expositions précédentes. www.mobiliernational.culture.gouv.fr. fr. 2017-06-13.
  6. Web site: a l l e r dehors – La criée. www.criee.org. fr. 2017-06-13.
  7. Web site: French . Visions des Lumières Musée Cognacq-Jay . Artscape . 20 February 2015 . 13 June 2017.
  8. Web site: Mon ile de montmajour.
  9. Web site: Expo "Figures du pouvoir" à La Filature. Alsace20. YouTube. 2013-09-16. 2017-06-13.
  10. Web site: Photographie olivier roller figures du pouvoir au muse 769 e des moulages lyon 3e – - Tribune de Lyon. www.tribunedelyon.fr. fr. 2017-06-13.
  11. Web site: Portraits photographique du pouvoir et de l'influence par Olivier Roller Actuphoto. fr.actuphoto.com. fr. 2017-06-13.
  12. Web site: Olivier Roller – Spazio Nuovo Gallery, Rome – 2013. Spazio Nuovo. YouTube. 2013-04-25. 2017-06-13.
  13. Web site: Italian . ISFCI & FotoLeggendo presentano 'Figures du pouvoir' di Olivier Roller . ISFCI BLOG . 21 September 2011 . 13 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111108174544/http://www.isfci.com/blogg/?p=483 . 8 November 2011 . dead .
  14. Web site: Figures du Pouvoir – GDD. www.grangededorigny.ch. fr. 2017-06-13.
  15. Web site: Empereurs romains et autres figures du pouvoir au Musée […] – Art Côte d'Azur]. www.artcotedazur.fr. fr. 2017-06-13.
  16. Web site: Exposition d'Olivier Roller Figures du Pouvoir, portraits d'Olivier Roller. fukuoka-fr.blogspot.fr. 2 February 2011. 2017-06-13.
  17. Web site: Interview d'Olivier Roller NEON Magazine. neon.color-lounge.com. fr-FR. 2017-06-13.
  18. Web site: Nefta.
  19. Web site: de l'air, des livres – de l'air, le magazine qui donne à voir. www.delair.fr. fr-FR. 2017-06-13.
  20. Web site: Face(s).
  21. Web site: olivier roller photographer – mai 1981. www.olivierroller.com. 2017-06-13.
  22. Web site: Olivier roller photographer – faces .
  23. Web site: olivier roller photographer – clarita's way. www.olivierroller.com. 2017-06-13.

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