chemigram
Pierre Cordier and Gundi Falk
Photo-sensitive materials and supports, various dimensions
Belgium, 1950s–ongoing
Image above: Pierre Cordier and Gundi Falk, Chimigramme 9/11/12, Musigramme contemporain, 60 x 50 cm, 2012, unique
A chemigram is made by painting with chemicals directly on light-sensitive paper. It “combines the physics of painting (varnish, wax, oil) and the chemistry of photography (photosensitive emulsion, developer, fixer); without a camera, without an enlarger and in full light.” (http://www.pierrecordier.com/15.html)
In these works, the material surface acts as the channel for compositional ends; concrete, abstract and symbolic qualities are held in careful balance. Since 2011, Cordier has collaborated with Gundi Falk. Their work often shows a concern for visual pattern (e.g. Cordier and Falk's Chimigramme 9/11/12, Musigramme contemporain, 2012, unique and Chimigramme 26/4/16, Twin, 2016). However, amorphous, unordered, irregular forms are also pursued (Falk's matter's whispers 2/2/18 and matter's whispers 17/1/18, both 2018). Instances where the two interact are particularly rich (e.g. Cordier's Chimigramme 30/12/81 III, Musigramme, 1981 and Cordier and Falk's Chimigramme 14/3/12, Fenêtres sur l'Inconnu, 2012) – exemplifying the mutuality of control and contingency. The intervention the chemigrams pose in relation to questions of the dispositif is to reflect human agency without figuratively representing it. Furthermore, we become aware of an alignment between our tendencies for cognitive ordering and the molecular ordering of nature. (Barnaby Dicker)
Gundi Falk, born 1966 close to Salzburg, lives and works in Brussels, Belgium.
Pierre Cordier, born 1933 in Brussels, lives and works in Brussels, Belgium.
More images
1. Pierre Cordier and Gundi Falk, Chimigramme 26/4/16, Twin, 50 x 60 cm, 2016, unique
2. Pierre Cordier, Chimigramme 14/6/91, d'après La Suma de Jorge Luis Borges, 53 x 61 cm, 1991, unique
3. Pierre Cordier, Chimigramme 30/12/81, III Musigramme, 9,5 x 46 cm, 1981, unique
4. Gundi Falk, matter's whispers 2/2/18, 60 x 50 cm, chemigram, 2018, unique
5. Gundi Falk, matter's whispers 17/1/18, 60 x 50 cm, chemigram 2018, unique
References
Pierre Cordier, http://www.pierrecordier.com/.
Pierre Cordier, “Chemigram: A New Approach to Lensless Photography,” in Leonardo 15, 4 (1982), pp. 262–268, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/600236/pdf.
Gunther Dietrich and Tomás Rodríguez (eds.), Concrete Photography/Generative Photography (Berlin: Photo Edition Berlin, 2016).