The Hypothesis of Landscape
This film begins with a simple observation: the notion of landscape, which held great nobility during the Renaissance and became the subject of representation, disappears in the 20th century. Intrigued by this silence, we set out to search for the landscape as others have sought lost time, armed with a single question: where has the intention of landscape gone?
As our research progressed, our certainties of rediscovery weakened. The closer we got to the landscape, the further it seemed to vanish. However, its disappearance revealed the reasons for its silence. The landscape does not exist; it is merely a hypothesis. This hypothesis is what we will pursue throughout the documentary, staging its reconstruction through an investigation.
Type (Documentaire / Documentaire fiction / Série documentaire)DocumentaryGenre en anglaisSociety & Economy Written byAntoine Segovia, Pierre BourgeoisDirected by Pierre BourgeoisWith the support of CNC, Département du Jura, L'Observatoire photographique du Paysage, Ministère de l'Environnement, Ministère de la Culture, Procirep, Région Franche-ComtéDistributed by ADAV, Artline FilmsYear2000Duration52min
First, there is the absurd story of the Chinese artist commissioned by the emperor to create a landscape for a room in his palace. Once the painting is completed, the emperor is invited to come and examine the work. Delighted by what he discovers, he turns to the painter to congratulate him. But the painter has vanished from the room—he has entered his landscape.
Next is the simple, rhythmic exercise of the Photographic Observatory of Landscape: photographic documentation. Taking photos of a landscape at regular intervals and from the same angle to create series that allow one to appreciate its evolution.
Yet, in the slow succession of stories about representation, the same question inexorably weaves its way through: what is a landscape?
The notion of landscape is the very epitome of an impossible debate, an unidentified verbal object. Yet it is described, framed, and inaugurated, but there is no science of landscape, and there likely never will be.
Press coverage
Landscape designers, architects, urban planners, officials from the French Monuments and the Departmental Directorate of Equipment all crowd in front of the camera to deliver a fascinating lesson on landscape.
Télérama
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