Raymond Depardon
A largely self-taught photographer who learned through experience in the field, Depardon belongs to a generation of French photographers reluctant to overinterpret their subjects. In the long run, the photographer could only be absolutely sure of his or her own identity, which is why several of Depardon's publications are autobiographical. His wide range has enabled him to approach with equal talent news, sports, war photography, in-depth reportage, and advertising. His current interests are film-making and numerous photographic projects.
Born in Villefranche-sur Saône, Depardon knew early on that he wanted to escape his destiny as a farmer's son: photography was to be his way out. He took his first pictures on the farm when he was twelve with a secondhand Rolleiflex bought with his savings. In 1956 he worked for six months assisting the local photographer-optician and learned photography through a correspondence course.
In the 1960s Depardon covered the Algerian War and fulfilled his military service as a photographer for the Ministry of Defense's newspapers. He developed a profound love for the Middle East and the desert, which would be recurrent themes in his later work. In 1967 an important encounter with colleague Gilles Caron led to the founding of Gamma. They were assigned to the most troubled parts of the world: Africa, Vietnam and Cambodia.
In 1969 Depardon made his first film on Jan Pallach and has since directed sixteen films. In 1971 he was imprisoned in Chad with his colleagues Caron, Michel Honorin and Robert Pledge. Following the disappearance in Vietnam of his best friend Caron, Depardon turned away from photojournalism for two years then returned to coverage of world events in 1971. In 1973 he became Gamma's director. That same year, he came to international attention for his contribution on a special report on Chile completed with two other Gamma photographers, Chas Gerretsen and David Burnett, with whom he shared the prestigious Robert Capa Gold Medal.
From 1975 to 1977 Depardon traveled in Chad and received a Pulitzer Prize in 1977. The next year he left Gamma to become a Magnum associate, then a full member in 1979, when he also received a George Sadoul Prize for his film Numéro Zéro.
Depardon has gone on to shoot numerous documentary films then went on to fiction with Empty Quarters (1984). As a photographer he also participated in the national project D.A.T.A.R. to document urban and rural landscape in France. In the 1990s, Depardon went back to his parents' farm to photograph rural landscapes in color, then in 1996 published a black-and-white road journal, In Africa, a personal but unsentimental account of his thirty-year journey through that continent.
Depardon, who has exhibited internationally, has received numerous awards including the César Award for Best Documentary and a nomination for an Academy Award.
Partial Bibliography
- Chili, 1973 - Tchad, 1978 - Gilles Caron, Reporter, 1978 - Notes, 1979 - Correspondance newyorkaise, 1981 - Le désert américain, 1983 - San Clemente, 1984 - Les Fiancées de Saigon, 1986 - Raymond Depardon: Correspondence, 1986 - Hivers, 1987 - Rimini-Cinéma: Raymond Depardon, 1988 - Depardon Cinéma, 1993 - Return to Vietnam, 1994 - La Ferme du Garet, 1995 - En Afrique, 1996 - La Porte des Larmes. Retour vers l'Abyssinie, 1996 - Depardon Voyages. Photographs by Raymond Depardon, 1999 - Photo Poche 81: Raymond Depardon, 1999 - Desert. Kat. Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporaine, 2000 - Raymond Depardon: détours. Kat. Maison Européenne de la Photographie, 2000 - Errance, 2000 - Images politiques, 2004 - Paris journal, 2004 - Paroles prisonnières, 2004 - Raymond Depardon: Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Berlin, Moscou, Addis-Abeba, La Caire; 7x3, une exposition de films. Kat. Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, 2004 - Afriques, 2005 - Photographies des personnalités politiques, 2006 - La solitude heureuse du voyageur précédé de notes, 2006