Biography
Born in 1937 in Rennes, Hervé Gloaguen entered
the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the same town at the age of 20. He was only there
for one year and in 1958 started at the Ecole de photographie on rue de
Vaugirard in Paris. After a flying visit to this institution, he decided to
become a self-taught photographer until 1960. He mainly photographed the world
of Parisian theatre. It was at this time that the photographer discovered jazz
in New Orleans. From September 1960 to September 1962, Hervé Gloaguen carried
out his military service in the Marines. In 1963 the film director Chris Marker
was impressed by his photographs and recommended him to the magazine Réalités. The same year, Gloagen became
assistant photographer to Gilles Ehrmann, author of the work ‘Les inspirés et leurs demeures.’ It was
the latter who introduced Hervé Gloaguen to professional techniques but also to
aesthetic and philosophical theories. He went on to receive orders for
industrial photographs but also more journalistic subjects. He then had the
opportunity to carry out several subjects in the United States. He discovered
contemporary American art there. Accompanied by the contemporary art specialist
Jean Clay, Hervé Gloagen photographed Andy Warhol in 1966. He also produced
portraits of the choreographer Merce Cunningham and the composer John Cage. At
the end of 1967, the photographer stayed in East Village, the heart of the new
New York scene made up of artists from all walks of life performing in theatres
‘Off-Off-Broadway.’ On the heels of this transatlantic experience and in a
post-68 context, Gloagen questioned his role as photographer in society. At the
start of 72, Hervé became one of the founders of the press agency Viva. Viva
photographers advocate a personal view of society through their work. These
professional journalists want ‘to make
personal photographs on themes which involve everyone.’ Their reportages
are committed and cover symbolic subjects. At the same time, Hervé Gloagen
published a book with Anne Tronchet dedicated to contemporary art. The
photographs from this book are exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art of the
City of Paris. Throughout his career, the photographer carried out many reports
for prestigious international publications whilst looking for equilibrium
between editorial realism and subjectivity of the photos. In 1982, Gloagen
confided his archives to Rapho and began an active collaboration with this
agency. He still continues to produce committed reports where his personal
visions about the state of the world are apparent.
COUNTRY : France
THEMES :
Music
COLLECTIONS :
Contemporary