"I knew Pierre's work years before I met him.I realized that his name was associated with a few
memorable images that had marked my teenage years my teenage years when I flipped through Life magazine: Maria Callas staring he horizon, her eyes lost, her hands stained red! Fellini in profile on the shooting of Juliette des Esprit! Those West Point cadets dancing together.
When I had the chance to meet him, to talk to him, I understood to what extent photography was for him "a furious craft", a way of effacing himself behind what can be seen. His desire to convey the emotion and truth of what he was looking at took precedence over any signature effect. He dedicated himself to one of photography's noblest genres: reportage.
As a reporter, he tracked down the "event" that resulted from the sheer magic of what happened between him and what was in front of his lens, in his way of looking at the world. He had the art of capturing the madness but also the beauty of an instant, of anticipating what would go on to make history. This formidable intuition can be felt in his vision of Yves Saint Laurent, whom he accompanied with the same constancy throughout his prestigious career.
You can sense Pierre Boulat's admiration and benevolence when he observes artists and men of genius. He seeks to capture what is most beautiful, most noble, most elegant about them: Karen Blixen's deep, black eyes, Truman Capote's charm... I think you have to be an artist yourself to achieve such a connivance, such a nature with another artist. But then again, Pierre Boulat has always rejected the very idea of being, in his field, "a great artist". He believed that photojournalism was not an art form, that it primarily served a function, that of informing, and that it was then necessary to move on to something else: the next paper, the next trip, the next camera model. Moving on to meet the world, without trying or even caring to build a work of art.
And yet Pierre Boulat is one of the strongest and most lively producers of post-war photography. Looking at his work, from the first photos taken in 1949 to the latest color images, everything seems to take shape harmoniously, effortlessly, according to the times, the faces, the landscapes. The same energy and curiosity run through his images. One has the impression of being confronted with unique visions, whether in front of the inhabitants of Port-Saïd after the bombardments or the mischievous gaze of a jet-setting Italian countess or a bar waitress in the United States. Because his photographer's morality forbade him any hierarchy of value, Pierre Boulat was able to turn everyday life into an exceptional adventure, and every scoop into a moment captured on the spot with a spontaneity that escapes history."
Nicolas Saada
