Let's imagine that we are in a different world where cameras are designed and used for the only purpose of documenting the real world, of copying it (to the best of the operator's skill).
Let's imagine that Alain Briot, for his next article, introduces himself as an artist. Explicitly. Without any reference to photography (at least at this stage of his article).
Let's imagine that his article is about a new art form, whatever its name, whereby he is able to create pieces of art that he calls "pictures".
Then Alain would explain why he has produced those "pictures", which message he wished to put forward, etc.
We can imagine that he would give insights on his artistic background, his life, both aspects providing in one way or another other clues to understand his work.
Then, but only then, he would explain that he had adopted a new approach, very different from painting, which is based on a very different (abnormal) use of cameras. Instead of using a camera to copy the real world, which is nowadays the normal use of cameras, he discovered that by appropriately processing (with specific tools that he prefers to keep secret) photographs taken with a camera, he was able to produce those pictures which eventually were the best way to express what he, as an artist, wanted to tell to his audience (and by the way those pictures were not intended to be a copy of the real world, which is usually the case for normal photographs). He would also add that he was prepared to face criticisms on his abnormal use of cameras, to be misunderstood by the artists community and despised by the photographers community, but that he would expect that, with time, people would understand and accept this new form of artistic expression.
Christophe
