Philippe Calandre: Artist Q&A
Philippe Calandre
Philippe Calandre was born in 1964 in Avignon, France. He is a French photographer and designer who lives and works in Paris. Autodidact, his work combines his passion for photography and his interest in industrial architecture which fascinated him while he was sailing the seas and spending a long time in cities by harbour complexes. In his artworks, Calandre explores the link between societal ideologies and the design of buildings. Thanks to photomontage techniques, the artist does not simply exhibit real architectures photographed around the world, but recomposes oneiric landscapes, buildings or entire cities confronting ideals.
OPENART Proust Questionnaire
Artist Q&A: Philippe Calandre
Q: How are you?
PC: Hi Marion! I’m doing well.
Q: What is your present state of mind?
PC: My present state of mind. I’m cheerful and very motivated to work. I like to be like that.
Q: What is your best moment or experience during lockdown?
PC: My best experience during lockdown was to walk all over Paris without cars and to discover the absolute silence of the metropolis.
Q: Do you work with music or in silence?
PC: It depends on my mood. If I’m tired, I turn on some music to get a rhythm, a tempo. Otherwise, I work in silence.
Q: Last song, album or podcast that inspired you?
PC: I could mention Patty Smith’s “Dancing Barefoot,” a song I like.
Q: Which do you like more poetry or literature?
PC: Rather novels.
Q: What was the last book that inspired you?
PC: I was inspired by a quite sorrowful book titled The Road by Roman Cormac McCarthy, and I recommend it. It’s a very good book but quite depressing.
Q: What is your favorite color?
PC: Oddly it’s blue! I’m always looking at the sky. Wonderful!
Q: Who is your favorite artist?
PC: I have been thinking a lot about this question. Oddly, one name comes to my mind, and I would like to pay tribute to, it’s Edward Hopper.
Q: What inspired you to become an artist?
PC: I think it’s the daily routine refusal. A refusal of boredom, of a boring life I have already experienced. It came naturally.
Q: What is the role of an artist in society?
PC: The role of the artist in society is very important during crisis or wars. I think this is at these times that the artists’ status makes sense. At that time, the artist must work and must increase his energy and vitality to make a statement, whatever it is, of the period in which he lives and which is not necessarily joyful.
Q: What is your motto in life?
PC: My motto in life would be sharing. For example, I like to share experiences…What we are doing right now is sharing, I think. I like this kind of experiences.
Q: What is your motto in your artistic practice?
PC: Before everything else integrity.
Q: What are some of your upcoming projects?
PC: The project to carry on my work, that has been stopped, in Singapore. And soon I have the project to photograph Moscow. I’m delighted because I like the quite brutalist architecture. It will be my little paradise, I think!
Thank you, Philippe!
PC: With pleasure! Thank you.
@philippecalandre
Inner Room with a View
Curated by Marion Lamy
OPENART Virtual Group Exhibition
28 February - 30 June 2021
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Christine Lee
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+917.224.0680
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Image courtesy of the artist.