Pwt 01 2017 seven short queries by Serge Plantureux

THURSDAY 5th JANUARY 2017

WEEKLY TRANSMISSION N°01

A VISUAL TRAINING

N°3, detail

LOOKING AT “ORGANIC” VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS :

contents: The past is constructed from the present (Edgar Morin) Looking at Vintage Photographs, a visual exercise at Drouot Art School 7SQ — Seven Short Queries 7SQ — Sept Simples Questions Seven Vintage Photographs to look at Seven Versos with pieces of evidence WWW.PLANTUREUX.FR

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N°1, detail

“The past is constructed from the present, which selects what in its eyes is historical, that is to say precisely what has developed in the past to produce the present.” (Edgar Morin) “Le passé est construit à partir du présent, qui sélectionne ce qui, à ses yeux, est historique, c'està-dire précisément ce qui, dans le passé, s'est développé pour produire le présent”. (Edgar Morin)

The e-bulletin presents articles as well as selections of books, albums, photographs and documents as they have been handed down to the actual owners by their creators and by amateurs from past generations. The physical descriptions, attributions, origins, and printing dates of the books and photographs have been carefully ascertained by collations and through close analysis of comparable works. When items are for sale, the prices are in Euros, and Paypal is accepted.

N°01-2017 : SEVEN SHORT QUERIES FOR SEVEN PICTURES

Weekly Transmission 01

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Thursday 5th January 2017

Looking at organic vintage photographs, a visual exercise Next week will resume the vintage photographs analysis training cycle at Drouot Art School*, this transmission is dedicated to the students and follow the workshop programm : A group of vintage photographs — documentary, artistic or historical — are proposed to look at, with a reduced system of questions to answer within minutes, mainly : Where and When was it created ? Which traces, signature or stamps can we consider for a further investigation? Then together we discuss possible answers and we try to identify the artist or the author and his intentions, Who did What and Why ?. In a third step, aftergathering enough elements or pieces of evidence, we will discuss the scientific and commercial values, the actual market value, the estimation. * Drouot Formation, 12 rue Drouot, Paris, traineeship in the Drouot auction house and specific photography workshop at 80 rue Taitbout. “Art History applied to the Art Market establish an innovative teaching skills that is a particularity of Drouot Formation. Centered in the eye traineeship, the pedagogical project of this training aims to develop practical skills among the students such as research tools, the capacity to identify, authenticate works of art, their enhancement or else their estimation within the context of a negotiation”.

7SQ - Seven Short Queries 7SQ follow the famous “Five Ws” (Who did What, Where and When, and Why ?), and the “Five Ws and one H”, which are often mentioned in journalism, research, and police investigations. A standard series of questions has been a way of formulating or analyzing rhetorical questions since classical antiquity*. The "Five Ws and one H” were memorialized by Rudyard Kipling in his poem accompanying the tale of "The Elephant's Child": “I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.” The Seven Short Queries when looking at vintage photographs are : — Who could be the author ? — What could be a title ? — Where was it created ? — When was it printed ? — Which process was used ? — How large ? (dimensions usually given in mm, height before length) — Why ? Can we investigate his intentions ? (stamps, signatures, captions, traces) Then, if we can answer the 7SQ, an estimation or a price as a result : — How Much could it worth ? Proposed answers to the seven short queries for the seven prints will be found, under the reproduction of the versos, after pages 1-7, pages V-1 to V-7.

* Hermagoras of Temnos defined seven "circumstances", μόρια περιστάσεως 'elements of circumstance' as the loci of an issue: Quis, quid, quando, ubi, cur, quem ad modum, quibus adminiculis (Who, what, when, where, why, in what way, by what means), as quoted in pseudo-Augustine's De Rhetorica.

7SQ - Sept Simples Questions La semaine prochaine reprendra le cycle de formation sur l'analyse des photographies anciennes à l'école d'art Drouot *, cette transmission est dédiée aux étudiants et suit le programme des travaux dirigés. Cette méthode de description est directement inspirée d’un concept fort ancien* notamment utilisé en journalisme. En anglais, cette méthode est abrégée en Five W's, «who did what, where and when, and why» c'est-à-dire : «qui a fait quoi, où, quand et pourquoi ?». Les Five W's ou "règles fondamentales du reportage" sont particulièrement utilisés en agence de presse, qui exige que les réponses aux cinq questions soient données dès le début de la dépêche, ce qui permet un découpage de l'information par priorité. cette méthode oblige l’analyste à faire un choix. Les sept simples questions face à une épreuve photographique historique ou ancienne sont — Qui pourrait en être l’auteur ? (identification ou école) — Quel titre pourrait être attribué ? (Le titre original, s’il est connu, en italique et en VO) — Où la photographie a-t-elle été conçue ? — Quand l’épreuve a-t-elle été tirée ? — Comment a-t-elle été développée ? (procédé photographique) — Dans quelles dimensions ? (généralement en mm, hauteur avant largeur) — Pourquoi, dans quelle intention ? (tampons, signatures, inscriptions, traces, indices) Si l’on peut achever le raisonnement et répondre, alors on peut essayer de résumer : — Combien vaut-elle ? Des éléments de réponses à ces sept simples questions se trouvent sous la reproduction du verso de chaque épreuve après les pages 1-7, pages V-1 à V-7.

*En latin : «Quis, Quid, Ubi, Quibus auxiliis, Cur, Quomodo, Quando» qui sont les 7 questions qui définissent les « circonstances » d'une situation («circum-stare», se tenir autour). On cite comme origine possible les «circonstances» définies par le rhéteur grec Hermagoras de Temnos et transmises par saint Augustin : Quis, quid, quando, ubi, cur, quem ad modum, quibus adminiculis.

Weekly Transmission 01