Jean-Marc Prouveur (born 17 December 1956, Saint-Quentin, France) is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

and filmmaker. He attended L'Ecole de Beaux-Arts in

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

. A seminal figure in the vanguard of London's Punk movement of the 1970's, Prouveur has always moved with the times. His work is owned by the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London and collections including those of Rodolf Nureyev and

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...

. He is one of the most stylish allegorists of our time and his work constitutes an intense, lyrical, and sometimes dark meditation on modern life. On arriving in London in 1976, he became involved in the circle of Derek Jarman, and subsequently, in the making of the 1977 film '' Jubilee''. For much of the 1980s Prouveur worked independently in the photographic medium, creating artworks characterized by the "outlaw sexuality" of the male nude, punctuated by religious iconography, showing in London, Paris, New York City, Amsterdam, Rome and many other cities worldwide. He acknowledges artistic precedents in

F. Holland Day Fred Holland Day (23 July 1864—23 November 1933), known professionally as F. Holland Day, was an American photographer and publisher. He was prominent in literary and photography circles in the late nineteenth century and was a leading Pict ...

and

Wilhelm von Gloeden Wilhelm Iwan Friederich August von Gloeden (September 16, 1856 – February 16, 1931), commonly known as Baron von Gloeden, was a German photographer who worked mainly in Italy. He is mostly known for his pastoral nude studies of Sicilian boy ...

, and to a shared artistic preoccupation with contemporaries

and

Gilbert and George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943 in San Martin de Tor, Italy), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942 in Plymouth, United Kingdom), are two artists who work together as the collaborative art du ...

.Jean-Marc Prouveur's ''Altar Pieces'' (June 1982) - exhibition essay by Marco Livingstone. In 1991 the

Terrence Higgins Trust Terrence Higgins Trust is a British charity that campaigns about and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health. In particular, the charity aims to end the transmission of HIV in the UK; to support and empower people living with HIV, to ...

commissioned Prouveur a series of printed flyers entitled 'Tales of Gay Sex' with information on HIV transmission, photo stories depicting scenarios between gay men and a helpline for the

. In the early 1990s Prouveur moved into

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, launching his Liquid London studio. His early short films, ''Dance Macabre'' and the

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 9 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...

-inspired ''Solar Anus'' were elegies to

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

; later in the decade he moved closer to

pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

. Back in 2004, it may have been a surprise to some when Legionnaires upset releases from bigger studios to walk away with the

GAYVN The GayVN Awards are film awards presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornographic industry. The awards were sponsored by ''AVN Magazine'', the parent publication of ''GAYVN Magazine'', and continue the recognition for gay pornograph ...

Award for Best Foreign Release. But for fans who have been following Liquid London's rise since it started in 1992, the accolades were long overdue. The studio is the passion of Jean-Marc Prouveur, a successful French photographer who turned his attention to film after his success with shooting male nudes hit big in shows across the globe. "He attended art school in France from 1973 to 1976, and then came to London where he met several artists, such as Derek Jarman, David Hockney and Rudolf Nureyev. Photographic exhibitions worldwide followed. He then moved on to experimental/underground films shown in festivals worldwide from 1993 to 1999." Prouveur has a natural affection for the male body, and his undoubted photographic talents aided him in transforming that love to photography and video. Liquid London started making art house films then softcore releases, but when laws in the United Kingdom changed in 1999, the studio entered the hardcore realm. And with the release of Heat & Lust — Postcards to a Pornographer, Liquid London found a new North American attention. Prouveur's work is influenced by a wide variety of film from classic mainstream cinema on an international scale. "Many films stand out, starting with

Pink Narcissus ''Pink Narcissus'' is a 1971 American arthouse drama film directed by James Bidgood and starring (unknowns) Bobby Kendall, Don Brooks and stage actor Charles Ludlam. It visualizes the erotic fantasies of a gay male prostitute. Premise Betwe ...

, which he saw in 1975, together with

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

Un Chant d'Amour ''Un chant d'amour'' (; English: ''A Song of Love'') is French writer Jean Genet's only film, which he directed in 1950. Because of its explicit (though artistically presented) homosexual content, the 26-minute movie was long banned. Plot Th ...

and most of Jean Cocteau's 'films, without forgetting the avant-garde in France from the '70s:

Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

, Truffaut. Or the experimental films from the States with

Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

Curt McDowell Curtis A. McDowell (January 9, 1945 – June 3, 1987) was an American underground filmmaker. Biography McDowell was born in 1945 in Indiana. He moved to San Francisco in the late 1960s to study painting at the San Francisco Art Institute. Afte ...

and Russ Meyer." The Italian "new wave" from the 1960s - which included directors Bernardo Bertolucci and

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

- also had an influence, followed by the exciting new generation of filmmakers from Spain (like Pedro Almodovar) and Britain ( Danny Boyle). "So many films stand out for their sheer magic and their power to transport you into a world you could not have imagined.

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...

is another filmmaker that stands out for Jean-Marc because of his astonishing magical tales. As for his own films, he is very proud of Gamins D' Auvergne, The Prisoner's Song, The Manor, Beast and both Legionnaires, without forgetting Polish Pleasures or Spanish Obsessions and his very first 'hardcore' movie, though he had already made over 30 erotic films prior to Lust & Betrayal. For the very same reason, he admires so-called mainstream films, with their abilities to mesmerize you and offer you a peep into someone else's universe. Prouveur believes that adult films are no different from any other genre, and therefore ought to have a comprehensive storyline to carry the viewer along within its erotic universe. "The films in general are either based on real-life characters, such as in Gamins d'Auvergne - where Jean-Marc has sought inspiration from

, the 19th-century gay photographer - or on fictitious stories such as Rascals or Lust & Betrayal." Prouveur now divides his time between London and Auvergne, France. He continues to experiment in photography and

whilst researching an essay on the history of pornography and its place in art.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prouveur, Jean-Marc French film directors French photographers French pornographic film directors LGBT film directors 1956 births Living people