Intérieurs
HERS AND HERS. THE STORY OF INTÉRIEURS. ARTIST AND PHOTOGRAPHER FRANÇOIS HERS COMMISSIONED SOPHIE RISTELHUEBER TO WRITE A TEXT FOR HIS PHOTOGRAPHS. SHE COULDN'T FIND THE WORDS. SO SHE TOOK PICTURES INSTEAD. AND THEN THEY PUBLISHED THEM. AND THEN THEY GOT MARRIED.
To start with him. François Hers is a Belgian artist whose many varied projects included photographing the super extra unordinary interiors of social housing in the Walloon region of Belgium.
He visited over 150 homes in 1979 and photographed every room within them. They are almost all as wild style as this!
The flash reflected in the window. Garish and glarish (new word - go with it), Hers has produced some of the flattest colour photographs in the history of the world. The book was published in 1981. It may never be beaten for flatness.
Can't really be described that room. There is so much not to say! We will draw attention only to the giant goldfish picture on the right. That has to be not said!
One more. Another unpopulated room. Hers had an idea to accompany these photographs with text. He commissioned Sophie Ristelhueber - who then worked in publishing with Zoom magazine - to write the piece. Ristelhueber met the inhabitants and even stayed in some of the houses for weekends but she couldn't find the words. Instead she took more photographs.
The second half of the book is black and white. These are the portraits by Ristelhueber of the people whose homes were captured in colour by Hers. Intérieuers is generally now most notable for being Ristelhueber's first book. She went on to become a highly regarded war photographer. We would say the LEGEND is shared. Hers's colour is like no other.
More and more pattens and fabrics and furnishings and wallpapers. It is the most domestic of world views. After working together on the book Hers and Ristelhueber married. They live together in Paris. We may not sell novels but we love a good story.
At least four major pattern designs in that part of that room alone. Every page is total treasure. A visual directory of taste and anti-taste. You have to have this book. That isn't possible of course. We only found three copies. But you have to try. So be quick to click the button below.