Swiss born Pierre documents Bali's rural areas<\/p>\n
By Intan Petersen<\/p>\n
DENPASAR (JP): Pierre Poretti, a Swiss born photographer now
\nliving in Bali, is one of many who has fallen under the spell of
\nBali.<\/p>\n
He has made the island his home and workplace since 1984. In
\nthe last ten years Pierre, who is an admirer of Felix Nadar, a
\nphotographer whom he deems as the patron of photographers, has
\ndocumented Bali's rural areas, its performing arts and dances,
\nits beaches and the various lifestyles of the people inhabiting
\nthe Island of the Gods in black and white.<\/p>\n
Why is he so interested in black and white photography?
\nHaven't people given up black and white photography?<\/p>\n
\"Through my black and white photographs, painted with
\ntransparent water colors, I can pour out my imagination and
\nfeelings onto the object of photograph, depending on my mood at
\nthe time as well as my aesthetical values,\" Pierre said. \"This
\ncolor application technique on black and white photographs was
\ncommon in Europe and America when colored photographs were not
\nyet invented. Before 1960, many people colored their black and
\nwhite photographs according to their own taste,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
Even after the invention of color photography this technique,
\nnow valued as art, is again popular in Europe and America.<\/p>\n
The colors brushed onto the photographs can make it look
\nantique. They also convey a different impression from a colored
\nphotograph of the same object.<\/p>\n
\"This technique gives people a strong impression of the
\nphotographed object,\" Pierre argued. \"I can even create poems
\nthrough these works.\"<\/p>\n
Pierre does poeticize through his spellbinding photographs.
\nHis work entitled No Guest, shot when Jimbaran Beach was
\ndeserted, is of the sea, beach and empty chairs. Pierre
\nbeautifully colored the sand the golden yellow color of the rice
\npaddy while maintaining the natural blue of the sea. The golden
\nyellow of the paddy is calming and peaceful. It puts you under
\nthe artist's poetic spell.<\/p>\n
However, the strength of Pierre's photography is not always
\ndue to the unnatural coloring of the object. He uses original
\ncolors in Little Brother which depicts a Balinese girl putting a
\nflower behind her younger brother's ear as they depart for the
\ntemple to pray. Here Pierre has maintained the original whiteness
\nof the destar (headdress worn during religious ceremonies). The
\nwhite destar is the strength of the photograph while the other
\nobjects are colored transparently, like the girl's red dress.
\nMost of his colored photographs have a peaceful nuance which calm
\nthe audience.<\/p>\n
Pierre was born in Lugano and speaks English, German, Italian,
\nFrench and Indonesian. He has proven from the start that he was
\nnot wrong in choosing Bali. His works are appreciated by many
\npeople and are in many collections.<\/p>\n
\"Money is not my main objective,\" Pierre assured when asked
\nwhy his creations are not expensive.<\/p>\n
He also spends his time as an ambassador for Bali through his
\nexhibitions overseas. He had a solo exhibition in Switzerland in
\n1989 entitled Bali 84\/88, and last month showed his works in New
\nYork. His painted photographs are also displayed in several five-
\nstar hotels in Bali, including the Grand Hyatt Bali and Bali
\nHyatt.<\/p>\n
Pierre's love of Bali underlies his constant study of Balinese
\nculture and has led to intimate interaction with other artists in
\nBali, like the painter Nyoman Gunarsa and Idanna Pucci, who is
\nthe Italian artist who restored the house of Walter Spies in
\nIseh, Karangasem.<\/p>\n
Pierre Poretti's photographs dispel the visions of model Elle
\nMacpherson posing in Balinese traditional dress, of topless
\nfemale tourists sunning themselves on beaches regardless of local
\nnorms, and the pubs offering all types of nightlife. Pictures of
\nfarmers' children, of fishermen on the weekend and bicycles on
\nthe paddy field dikes convince us that the more Bali remains
\nintact the more Bali will remain a paradise.<\/p>",
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