ABLAZE
(did Rodin like chandeliers?)
Light is a thing that cannot be reproduced,
but must be represented by something else - color.
Paul Cézanne
ABLAZE is my fourth collaboration with poet, Anne Michaels.
It is a book which explores the relationship between light, colour, and space.
The artist’s book was inspired by the artist/sculptor, Auguste Rodin
and the Hotel Biron, his home and studio for many years.
In 1919 his residence became the Rodin Museum, one of the most visited museums in Paris.
I visited the Rodin Museum, his former home and studio on three separate occasions,
in 2011 and then again twice in 2023 during the month of November.
The house resonated with his spirit and with his work.
It was a gray November day, yet the house was illuminated by the chandeliers and the mirrors
which reflected the winter light from the remarkable seven-acre garden.
The garden is an oasis in the middle of Paris.
I could see reflections of the statues in the mirrors as I walked through the procession of rooms,
and now and again caught a glimpse of myself, suspended in time and space.
The poem itself serves as a counterpoint to the images.
Intense.
Life and Death.
Feeling. Aging.
Time Suspended.
Sensual.
Whereas my images are about light and reflections and time.
And transparency.
The images, printed on very thin paper, can be seen from both sides, ephemeral and delicate.
A kind of ghosting. A metaphor for memory.
2025, edition of 20
9.5 x 6 inches, softcover book, presented in a slipcase, printed on White Kraft 50g
and Munken Print White, tinted pink, 80g
62 pages, 16 photographs, and 16 colour fields
Poem, ABLAZE, by Anne Michaels
