THE INSURRECTION OF THE IMAGE OR WHEN CINEMA VISITS RAOUL UBAC

ABSTRACT

The history of images in cinema and photography is inscribed on a common material basis coordinated by the creative instruments of photography. Despite sharing equivalent substrates, their artistic processes could not be more dissimilar. In this article, we will highlight some film-artisans initiatives which narrow the distance between the methods and make us aware of filmic materiality. For that, we will go through the period in which the artist Raoul Ubac subverts the figurative character of photography and, with the support of Georges Bataille, Rosalind Krauss and Augustine of Hippo, we will reflect on the formlessness, both in Ubac’s work and in three films manufactured at L’Etna and L’Abominable ateliers in France.

KEYWORDS:
Raoul, Ubac; Formlessness; Photography; Cinema; Materiality