Artistic approach
PRÉSENTATION
This exhibition associated with Chaumont-sur-Loire is the culmination of a very specific experiment conducted during a “residency”. Robert Charles Mann installed his “solargraphs” at various points around the Domain to capture the changing pattern of the sun’s curving path.
When eight-year-old Robert developed his first print in his father’s lab, he understood what the world of photography held of magic even before he had actually taken his first photograph.
Born in the United States in 1960, Robert Charles Mann grew up in an artistic world: his mother was a concert pianist and his father a photographer. The influence of his family environment led him to combine musical and photographic studies. He studied at Musicians Institute in Hollywood and Ohio State University School of Music.
He then went on to study astronomy, photography and contemporary musical composition, obtaining a diploma in Platinum Printing from the Maine Photographic Workshop in Camden, Maine, in 1990 and another in Pigment Printing from Düsseldorf Museum’s Fine Print Studio in 1992.
In the 1980s, he took part in a wide range of projects, eventually becoming involved with the Art Club, which lent its support to the production of avant-garde musical shows in Los Angeles. He returned to photo printing and set up his own business in order to fund his various artistic projects. He soon became one of the most sought-after printers, spending two years as studio manager and printer for Herb Ritts, and collaborating with Helmut Newton, Mary Ellen Mark, Peter Lindbergh, Sheila Metzner and Dennis Hopper among many others. At the same time, he held the position of Chief Photographer for the magazine “Exposure”. He has also produced countless prints for Twelve Tree & Twin Palms photographic books, as well as for the Hollywood Archives. Over the last twenty years, Robert Mann has printed over a million photos! In 1989, having earned a solid international reputation as photographer and printer, he moved to Paris, where he now lives.
