JAN FABRE  

Le temps emprunté

November 25 - February 25, 2006

Photographies de H. Newton, C. De Keyzer, R. Mapplethorpe, J. Molder, M. Swinnen, D. Braeckman, M. Vanden Abeele, W. Bergman, J.P Stoop, P.Coulibeuf. Dessins pour la Scène de Jan Fabre.

I am happy, through this exhibition, to associate myself, for the first time, with Jan Fabre’s creations for the stage, especially after the senseless criticisms that he suffered as an associate artist at the Avignon 2005 Festival. He, like Ostermeier or the marvellous Jan Decorte, was vilified, although those who stayed after the show ttill the gave a standing ovation. We are dealing here with two opposing worlds: that of the well-turned phrase and that of direct action. Both are valid and cannot explain these violent protests.

The exhibit “Borrowed Time” organized by Actes Sud and Angelos for the Arles “International Photography Meet” enables a better comprehension of this multi-facetted artist.

Jan Fabre’s studies and creations for the stageare performances-in and by themselves. In his drawings, he uses a blue ballpoint together with bodily fluids. A way to better articulate joy, pain, human modesty or humor.

In 1984 Robert Mapplethorpe photographed Jan Fabre’s “Pouvoir des Folies Théatrales” (The Power of Theatrical Madness) which marked his breakthrough as a stage artist. Helmut Newton, who died recently, was fascinated by Fabre’s 1987 “Sections de danses”, a spectacle full of theatre and ballet references. Carl De Keyzer, a member of the Magnum Agency, photographed the first two of the three parts of the opera “The minds of Helena Troubleyn: the glass in the head is made of glass” and “Silent dreams, difficult dreams”. Maarten Vanden Abeele, known for his pictures of Pina Bausch, produced a photographic report of “Je suis sang (I am blood ) 2001. Malou Swinnen realized a series of exceptional portraits. Dirk Braekman has photographed”Le lac des cygnes” 2002 and wonge Bergman the opera “Tannheuser” 2004. Very often these photographs go beyond the mere reporting and exhibit a personal style that makes them artistic works in the true sense of the term.