Lucien CLERGUE, France Fine-arts photographer Filmmaker Educator Author Ordre du Mérite 1980 Légion d’Honneur 2003 Ein Poet mit der Kamera “Wer nie Vorwürfe und Misserfolg erlebt hat, kann Ruhm und Erfolg nicht geniessen.” Lucien Clergue Im Werk von Lucien Clergue verbinden sich das geheimnisvoll Magische, Archetypen und Mythos zu einer kreativen Ausdrucksform – prachtvoll und zeitlos wie die paleolithischen Felsenmalereien in den Höhlen von Altamira. Introduction by Gottlieb GUNTERN A native of Arles, France, Lucien Clergue is a fine-arts photographer, author, educator and filmmaker. His work has been associated with some of France’s most significant artists, intellectuals, and musicians including Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Roland Barthes, and the Gypsy Kings. Clergue’s work has been published in numerous books and exhibitions. Clergue is the founder of the Recontres Internationales de la Photographie, Europe’s major photography conference and showcase, in his native Arles, France. While Clergue’s work has been displayed worldwide and included in the collections of many major museums, UCR/California Museum of Photography’s exhibition Signs of Gods and Goddesses will be his premiere West Coast retrospective exhibition. Over the decades Clergue has enjoyed worldwide success with exhibitions across Europe and North America. Clergue received his doctorate from the University of Provence, Marseilles under the direction of Roland Barthes in 1979. He has taught at such institutions as the New School of Social Research; conducted countless workshops on photographic technique, particularly dealing with the nude; published a number of art volumes, and has been the subject of many museum catalogues. 1 .