Looking for Smonk

La posture de l’homme, bras croisés, visage tourné, comme pour ne pas regarder l’objectif du photographe, donne une sensation de contrôle. Tout porte à croire que l’homme domine son environnement. Les bras croisés dans l'imaginaire commun sont perçus comme un signe de fermeté. Le spectateur a ainsi la sensation que l’homme se pose en conquérant de son environnement. Les bras croisés peuvent aussi signifier parfois une forme de repli, de défense, une tentative de protection contre une situation déplaisante, gênante, comme si le moine ne souhaitait pas être pris en photo avec cette cigarette à la bouche. Dans notre inconscient, l’image que nous avons des moines bouddhistes est celle de la méditation et de la simplicité. Notre imaginaire entre alors en conflit avec cette photographie qui contraste avec nos à priori.

Grâce à la légende de la photographie, nous apprenons qu’elle a été prise en Birmanie, dans la Vallée des Temples de Bagan, au centre du pays, en février 2016. Il s’agit donc pour nous d’essayer de faire dialoguer ce que la photographie nous montre et le sens que nous lui donnons. Ici, le fait que le spectateur puisse s’évader dans le hors-champ élargit considérablement la portée de l’image, laissant soin à l’imagination du spectateur de tisser les chaînons manquants. On peut donc facilement essayer d’imaginer une identité à cet homme et deviner ce qu’il observe. Que regarde-t-il ? Le photographe était-il seul face à lui ? S’agit-il d’une mise en scène ? Tout nous pousse à le croire, et nous avons bien conscience que la mise en scène du dispositif de prise de vue impacte notre perception et manifeste une subjectivité : l’originalité de la photo tient dans cette dichotomie entre la spiritualité et la sacralité qu’inspirent les lieux et l’aspect vaniteux de cet homme, qui contraste par ailleurs avec sa fonction.

Cette photographie nous montre donc l’image de la modernité face à l’ancien, en référence à un pays, la Birmanie, qui conserve son attachement aux traditions tout en revendiquant une ouverture au monde.

Wherever you are in Burma, they are to be found. Around 500.000 monks live in the country. With their traditional robes, they have a role of moral authority and have a special status in the country. What strikes the most, when looking at this photograph of Maximilien de Langautier, is the cigarette and the difference it makes with the temple in the background. We have before us the picture of a man whose outfit suggests he is a Tibetan monk or a religious. This hypothesis is confirmed by the presence of a temple in the background. Yet his attitude contrasts with the landscape.

The monk shows off with his sunglasses, smokes a cigarette and folds his arms on his chest, as if he were striking the pose for the photograph. A game of shadows enlightens the symmetry between the man and the temple. What is at stake here is the opposition between those two main elements: when the temple represents ancient times, the cigarette and the sunglasses represent modernity. There is a true culture shock here. One could almost believe the monk wears a costume, as the contrast may seem important between the two elements. The choice of publishing the photo in black and white increases the artistic effect.

Crossed arms, face turned aside, as if he did not want to stare at the camera: the monk gives us a feeling of control. Everything in this photograph leads to believe that this man dominates his environment. Arms crossed in the common imaginary are perceived as firmness. The viewer may look at the men as a conqueror. Crossed arms can also sometimes mean a form of withdrawal, defense, an attempt to protect against an unpleasant, embarrassing situation, as if the monk did not wish to be photographed with his cigarette in his mouth. In our unconscious, Buddhist monks are associated with meditation and simplicity. Our imagination is then reduced to nothing with this photograph that contrasts with our a priori.

Thanks to the legend of the photography, we learn that it was taken in Burma in the Bagan Valley of Temples, at the centre of the country in February 2016. What is important with this photograph is to attempt to make everything it shows match with the meaning one gives to it. The fact that the viewer can escape off-camera increases a lot the scope of the picture, letting our imagination create the missing links.

One can easily try to create an identity to this man and guess who or what he is staring at. Then what is he looking at? Was the photograph alone in front of him? Is it a mere show? Everything pushes us to believe so, and we are well aware that the camera setup also has an impact on our perception and reveals subjectivity: the dichotomy between spirituality, sacredness and the conceited attitude of the monk, who, as one, should not be so, is what makes this picture original.

This photograph is thus a means to oppose modernity to ancient times, with reference to a country, Burma, which is strongly attached to traditions but also to a spirit of opening up to the world.