“I look at this image and applaud the artists and artisans who made these standing sculptures and placed them in the stately gardens of Versailles. My mind inevitably wanders to Andre Le Nôtre, (1613-1700), the landscape architect who created many such wonderful perspectives of garden topiary in and around Paris. I then telescope back to take a more distant view of planet earth, a speck in our immense universe, with all the magnificence, beauty and mystery of it all. In 1996, I stopped, looked, saw and appreciated what was in front of me, on one of the many thousands of frosty mornings Versailles has experienced. I clicked the shutter on my camera, (which was made by somebody else, in another country). The image exposed on film, (manufactured thousands of miles away). It was processed in a laboratory, (in another distant city). I made the eventual print, in my own darkroom, and even had the audacity to sign it. But, let’s face it, I was and remain a bit part actor in an enormous cast of giant characters, and I’m absolutely fine with that.”
~
Michael Kenna
Michael Kenna has long had a deep affection for France — its atmosphere, its light, its landscapes. Many of his most iconic images, and several of his books, were born from this connection. And France, in turn, has shown its admiration. The French State will now house Kenna’s complete archive, and he has been officially recognized as a national artistic treasure.
Not bad for a boy from Widnes, Lancashire.
