SPECIAL MODE ET MEDIA - Magazine

EDITOR :
Alex Geoffrey
MAGAZINES
USED
Angleterre, semestriel, 128 p., no 2, 245 x 335 mm, 9 €
EXTRAIT
SUNDAY, THE VOYEURISM OF PAUL KOOIKER
How do we see? Standing as a casual observer or as a committed
voyeur, we are all engaged in the art of looking from the moment we
wake until we close our eyes at night. But what drives some people to
capture what they see, control that image, and convey their vision to
others? To enter the world of the voyeur is to break a taboo. The idea of
watching and not participating in what you are looking at is seen as
sinister, but it is also perceived as a private activity. To place the viewer
in the position of a voyeur makes them a voyeur too, and therefore
intensifies the experience of looking. Playing with perception has long
been a tool of the artist: from the Escher optical illusion to the photograph,
the artist can force you to question what you see, and in turn
forces you to question who you are. Photography has gone through so
many recent changes that there has been much discussion about the
culpability of the image. Photographs that are intended to convey news
or conflict are perceived as (or demanded to be) an objective record. But
art photography specifically combines this medium that can capture
‘reality’ and the desire of the artist to control what and how that reality
ART DIRECTION & DESIGN :
Useful
weareuseful.com
Ce n’est pas le tout d’avoir des clients quand on est directeur artistique, il faut aussi
pouvoir les garder ou, à défaut, en séduire d’autres. Paradoxalement, c’est en élaborant
des travaux non commerciaux (ou en les rassemblant), qu’on est davantage susceptible
d’attirer leur attention. Mais ce n’est pas qu’une arrière-pensée, c’est aussi une
hygiène des yeux et une gymnastique créative. Ainsi, Used, semestriel dont le luxe est
de ne compter aucune page de publicité, puise aux sources de l’art contemporain, de la
mode et de la photographie expérimentale pour assembler ses 128 pages. Quelles révolutions
pour le signe entraîne le développement d’Internet ? Les images toujours plus
immédiates peuvent-elles encore être expérimentales ? se demande Paul Kooiker. Les
défaillances informatiques peuvent-elles produire des images valides ?… Il faut reconnaître
à Used de poser des questions et d’ouvrir le champ, même si le résultat visuel
est parfois en dessous des ambitions. Pourtant, tout y est : un graphisme élégant, des
papiers choisis et même un brin de provocation avec ce titre : “Nature is not evil, it’s
ugly. That’s why we have gardens”. Aux manettes de ce magazine, Useful est un studio
de création graphique londonien pour la mode et le luxe. Used est son terrain de jeu et
doit, par essence, expérimenter et découvrir ; ça fait partie de son contrat…
MAGAZINE N O 7
14
is seen. Paul Kooiker often speaks about the cliché of looking. Using
the camera as a voyeur he seeks to objectify his subjects. Focusing
on form and image rather than portraiture, he also seeks to abstract
his subjects with framing and technique. Kooiker provokes the viewer
into questioning the nature of what they see and whether or not they
feel comfortable in front of the image, especially in terms of the female
form. Kooiker photographs women, usually in a stripped back environment,
positioned or placed. He then uses manipulative techniques on
the image to heighten the viewer’s focus on form. The Sunday pictures
(shown here) are an example of a project born out of a focus on one
pose and variations of it. The shape of the subject becomes the focus as
the original image is manipulated, the colour enhanced and in some
places entirely abstracted and repeated. Kooiker has spoken of taking
the human element out of the pictures and thus forcing the viewer
to explore the relationship between the original image and the finished
picture. These are simply pictures of a woman in her garden on a
Sunday, or are they? By photographing women, typically in the nude
and almost always with their faces obscured, Kooiker can examine different
elements of voyeurism and the ways in which we look.
[…] Amah-Rose McKnight-Abrams p. 34
DESIGN ASSISTANT :
John Alexander
PUBLISHER :
Useful