Rodin’s Burghers of Calais:A Heroes’ TaleGordon Watkinson

Foto+Synthesis organizes traveling exhibitions, accompanying publications and educational programming encompassing a wide array of topics, bringing together different ideas and influences through the unique perspective of the photographic image.

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Rodin’s Burghers of Calais: A Heroes’ Tale1

Exhibition

Gordon Watkinson is known for his highly aesthetic photographs of formal structures emphasizing the beauty of the geometrical shapes and the tactility of the materials. His distinctive frontal approach and fascination for details create images often bordering to abstraction, revealing the essence of his subjects.

In this new body of work Watkinson explores one of the most prominent art works of the 19th century, the monument dedicated to the Burghers of Calais by French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

The fall of Calais took place in 1347 after eleven months of siege by the English army, thus ending one of the darkest episodes of the Hundred Years War. According to the written account of Jean Froissart, court poet and historian to Philippa of Hainault, King Edward III’s wife, the English King demanded the sacrifice of six of the most prominent Burghers of Calais in exchange for the lives of the rest of the city’s population. The six noble volunteers were ordered to strip to their breeches and walk humbly from the city gates to the King, bringing with them the keys to the city, as a symbol of total capitulation. In Froissart’s seminal chronicle however the lives of all six Burghers were saved through Philippa’s intervention.

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Commissioned by the City of Calais in 1885 to create a monument honoring the six heroes, Auguste Rodin gave shape to the most famous representation of the historical event, solidifying its place in our collective consciousness. Based on his literal interpretation of Froissart’s account, the sculptor reveals the Burghers’ sacrifice, stressing the conflicted feelings of resignation and pain that might have consumed them as they made their way toward the enemy.

Watkinson’s work is conceived in narrative sequences, in which he creates elaborate environments by combining his photographs with text and graphic elements. In this series of large format images Watkinson initiates a compelling dialogue with the texture of the bronze, the fluidity of the lines as well as the intensity of the faces and gestures of Rodin’s characters. Deconstructing the group of six Burghers, Watkinson focuses with expressionistic acuteness on the depth of human emotions that the sculptor infused into his subjects: fear, despair, suffering, but also valor and determination in confronting the fate that they believed was awaiting them. The tight and frontal close-ups captured by the photographer conjure up with stunning affinity the sculptor’s powerful creative act.

The photographs will be presented alongside short texts from prominent contributors, specially commissioned for the project. The contributors will offer a multi-layered critical approach of the sculpture as well as the historical events that precipitated the creative process: an introduction by Catherine Chevillot, Director of the Musée Rodin, Paris; a text by Gordon Watkinson about his fascination for the monument and for its complex genesis; a text by Hélène Pinet, Curator of Photography at the Musée Rodin, Paris, about Rodin and photography, with a particular emphasis on the Burghers of Calais; and a text by Jean-Marie Moeglin, Professor of Medieval History at the Sorbonne-University, Paris, about the place and narration of the historical event in French historiography.

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Gordon Watkinson

Gordon Watkinson is an artist/photographer born in 1964 in Charlottesville, Virginia (USA). Watkinson borrowed a camera for a photography class he took at the age of 24 while attending Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. After completing the course his professor saw enough in his work that he arranged for him to begin working as a photographic assistant. Following the initial years assisting photographers in Virginia and Texas, Watkinson began his career as a commercial photographer working for a broad range of clients from the fields of advertising, architecture, design, and fashion. Over the years he developed a strong affinity for 20th century art and design, which has shaped his visual approach and nourished his original passion for furniture and all things design – drawing inspiration from the work of architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius, furniture designers Marcel Breuer, Eileen Gray, and Charlotte Perriand, as much as from photographers and artists as diverse as Horst P. Horst, Bernd & Hilla Becher, Ed Ruscha, Edward Hopper, or graphic designer Saul Bass. Watkinson offers viewers the essence of his subjects, creating narrative sequences of images that focus on structure, materiality, and form.

Watkinson has lectured internationally, most notably at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo/Norway, and at the Bauhaus-University in Weimar/Germany. His work is in the permanent collection of the German Architecture Museum, Frankfurt/Germany and in various private collections.

The Press about Gordon Watkinson’s previous project “Bauhaus twenty-21: An Ongoing Legacy”

“The most original exhibition and publication on the topic of the Bauhaus came 2009 from New York photographer Gordon Watkinson: […] a project at the intersection between conceptual art and architecture theory, that one can only recommend.”Hans-Michael Koetzle, PHOTO International (Germany)

“It is not raw functionalism that inspire the photographs of Gordon Watkinson. Using light and shadow, the photographer represents the beauty of the geometrical forms, thus underlining the abstract roots of the aesthetic we know from the work of both Kandinsky and Mondrian.”Maja Mozga-Gorecka, Rzeczpospolita (Poland)

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Preliminary SpecificationsTraveling Exhibition

Photographs by Gordon Watkinson: 7 to 8 archival pigment prints mounted on aluminum Size: 42 x 58 inches / 106.7 x 147.3 cmDisk with texts & graphics

Space Requirements: approx. 50 running feet / 15 running meterSecurity: LimitedParticipation Fee: Upon Request

Limited Edition

Originally conceived by Gordon Watkinson for fundraising purposes, this project will also be produced in an edition of 12 portfolios. Each of the portfolios will be comprised of:

Photographs by Gordon Watkinson: 7 to 8 archival pigment prints (unmounted & unframed) Each of the prints will be signed & numbered by the artist Size: 42 x 58 inches / 106.7 x 147.3 cmDisk with texts & graphics, as well as the artist’s recommendation for the mounting of the photographs

Each of these exclusive sets can remain in the museum’s permanent collection or be purchased by a patron.

Price: Upon Request

Educational ProgramFoto+Synthesis offers following educational opportunities with Gordon Watkinson:Developing a Personal Vision: Narrative & Photography 2 day-workshop for students (junior high to graduate level)Participants will learn how to use a series of photographs to illustrate a personal vision while developing an awareness of the art of the visual story.Anatomy of a Photo Project1 day-seminar for university photography & art students, or/and general audienceParticipants will learn how to develop a photographic project, from conception through planning for its realization in book or/and exhibition form.Guided tours of the exhibition with Gordon WatkinsonGuided tours of the exhibition with Gordon Watkinson for targeted audiences (general, children, high school students.)

This program can be expanded according to the wishes of the hosting venue.

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Schedule

Please contact us for available time slots.

Foto+Synthesis

Foto+Synthesis is a traveling exhibition service that focuses on work created by contemporary artists who use photography as their primary medium. Foto+Synthesis’ main partners are museums and further non-commercial cultural institutions in North & South America, Europe and Asia. Foto+Synthesis works directly with the artists to develop museum-ready exhibitions as well as educational programming such as guided tours, lectures, and workshops.

For an overview of Foto+Synthesis’ program of exhibitions, please visit our website www.fotosynthesis.com.

Contact

Alexandra Le Faou Foto+Synthesis

P +1 646 233 3621 F +1 212 202 4845 alexandra@fotosynthesis.com

www.fotosynthesis.com

All photographs © Gordon Watkinson