«Figuration narrative» - «narrative figuration" - "Narrative Image"

[Ухтомский]

Bernard Ransiyak (Bernard Rancillac)

Genus. 1931, Paris. French painter and graphic artist. Trained as a teacher of drawing, a few years engaged in teaching activities. Since 1957, with the acquisition of financial independence, gave himself up to independent creativity. In 1959-1961 he studied engraving skills under the guidance of Stanley William Hayter, creating a lot of graphic works.
In 1961 he became the winner of the Paris Biennale.
In the painting at first limited himself black, then created a series of "white" paintings on Fantomas (1962). In 1964, became one of the organizers of the exhibition "Modern Mythology", held in Gore. Museum of Modern Art and marked the birth of a new direction - "narrative figuration. In this association includes young artists who refuse for the sake of abstract reflection of contemporary reality in the forms generated by "mass art".
In the large-format paintings 1964-1965 reigns merry mess of numerous characters, outlined in the style of comics and cartoons of Walt Disney (Intimate Diary feet, 1965, Portugal, Shintra, Museum of Contemporary Art). Later Ransiyyak turned to current topics of social reality. A series of 18 paintings titled Year 1966 became a kind of chronicle of the political events of the year. In the treatment of such topics as the war in Vietnam, "Cultural Revolution" in China, a revolt of black Americans in California, the artist often resorted to project onto the canvas with color photographs, published in journals. Exaggerating the contrasts of black and white, until the loss of important details, artificial rigidity and flatness of the printed images, it represented not so much the event itself, how many ways it is processed in the media. The effect of double vision was amplified ironic inclusions promotional pictures and labels in a scene of violence, war and poverty (holy mother cow, 1966, private collection; Finally silhouette with a slender waist, 1966, Grenoble, Museum, Supplement to the dossier on the case, Ben Barka, 1966 , private collection; Blood comic, 1977, Dole, Museum), what is manifested Ransiyaka critical attitude towards a consumer society with its inherent standard image manipulation.

Lit.: Rancillac B. Voir et comprendre la peinture. Paris, 1991; Rancillac B. Le regard idéologique. Paris, 2000; Fauchereau S. Bernard Rancillac. Paris, 1991; Ferrier J.-L. Rancillac. Paris, 1997.
V. Kryuchkov