Guy Le Querrec
Encyclopedia
Guy Le Querrec
Guy Le Querrec (born 1941 in Brittany
, France
) is a French photographer and filmmaker, noted for his documentary images of jazz musicians. He is a member of Magnum Photos
.
"A photographer is an acrobat treading the high wire of chance, trying to capture shooting stars"--Guy Le Querrec
in the late 1950s. After having served in the army, he became a professional in 1967, and then worked as a picture editor and photographer for Jeune Afrique
magazine, working in francophone Africa, including Chad
, Cameroon
, Niger
, and Central African Republic
. In 1971 he gave his archives to Vu (photo agency), founded by Pierre de Fenoyl and then co-founded Viva (photo agency). In 1976, he left Viva and joined Magnum Photos
.
In the late 1970s he began directing films, working with Robert Bober. In 1983 at the Rencontres d'Arles
he experimented with projecting images while a jazz quartet played.
Besides having photographed numerous jazz festivals and African subjects, Le Querrec has traveled to China
and documented American Indians
. He has documented Villejuif
, a suburb of Paris
, as well as the Carnation Revolution
in Portugal
. He has also taught many photography workshops in France.
Guy Le Querrec (born 1941 in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) is a French photographer and filmmaker, noted for his documentary images of jazz musicians. He is a member of Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...
.
"A photographer is an acrobat treading the high wire of chance, trying to capture shooting stars"--Guy Le Querrec
Career
Le Querrec took his first photographs as a teenager using an Ultraflex and bought his first camera, a used Fotax in 1955. He shot his first pictures of jazz musicians in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the late 1950s. After having served in the army, he became a professional in 1967, and then worked as a picture editor and photographer for Jeune Afrique
Jeune Afrique
Jeune Afrique is a weekly newsmagazine published in Paris, founded in Tunis by Béchir Ben Yahmed on October 17, 1960. It covers the political, economic and cultural spheres of Africa, with an emphasis on Francophone Africa and the Maghreb....
magazine, working in francophone Africa, including Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, and Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
. In 1971 he gave his archives to Vu (photo agency), founded by Pierre de Fenoyl and then co-founded Viva (photo agency). In 1976, he left Viva and joined Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...
.
In the late 1970s he began directing films, working with Robert Bober. In 1983 at the Rencontres d'Arles
Rencontres d'Arles
The Rencontres d'Arles is a summer festival of photography, founded in 1970 by the photographer Lucien Clergue, the writer Michel Tournier and the historian Jean-Maurice Rouquette. It takes place between July and September in Arles, a town in Provence, southern France.The festival shows mostly new...
he experimented with projecting images while a jazz quartet played.
Besides having photographed numerous jazz festivals and African subjects, Le Querrec has traveled to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and documented American Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. He has documented Villejuif
Villejuif
Villejuif is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.-Name:The name Villejuif was recorded for the first time in a papal bull of 1119 as Villa Judea, the meaning of which is still debated...
, a suburb of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, as well as the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. He has also taught many photography workshops in France.
Filmography
- La Republique nous appelle, 1984, FR3, France
- Jazz Impressions, 1984
- Une minute pour une image (One minute for one image), 1983
- L’ennemi intérieur, 1983, FR3, France
- Le voyage de Rose, 1982
- Chasse à l’homme, TF1, France, 1981
- L'Oeil au Papier de Verre, 1979, FR3, France
- La batterie... vous rappelez pas? Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, Paris, France, 1979
- Les nouveaux créateurs (The New Creators), 1978, TF1, France
- Un repas de famille, Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, 1978
Recent Exhibitions
- L'Oeil de l'Elephant, 2006, Rencontres d'Arles, France
- JAZZ de J à ZZ, 2003, L’Espal, Le MansLe MansLe Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
, France - Rencontres internationales de D’Jazz, 2003, NeversNeversNevers is a commune in – and the administrative capital of – the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France...
, France - JAZZ de J à ZZ, 2002, Centro de la Imagen, BragaBragaBraga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
, PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... - Big Foot Trail, 2002, Gallery Hermès, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA