Pierre Molinier was a French photographer and painter known for his erotic and Surrealist imagery. He was born in 1900 in Agen, France and began his artistic career as a painter, but eventually turned to photography in the 1930s.
Molinier’s photographs were highly personal and often featured himself as the subject, often in cross-dressing and fetishistic attire. He also used mannequins and dolls as stand-ins for human models, and often manipulated the images using techniques such as double exposure and photomontage. His work was heavily influenced by Surrealism, and many of his images contain dreamlike and fantastical elements.
One of the most striking aspects of Molinier’s work is its highly sexualized nature. His photographs often depict nudity, BDSM, and other forms of eroticism. Molinier’s work is considered to be one of the earliest examples of queer photography, as he depicted himself and his subjects in various gender-bending and sexually transgressive ways. He also often depicted himself with multiple partners, depicting a sense of sexual liberation.
Molinier’s photographs were not widely known during his lifetime, and many of them were only discovered after his death in 1976. He was not a commercial photographer, and he only began to show his work publicly in the 1960s, when he had his first solo exhibition at the Galerie Daniel Templon in Paris.
Molinier’s work was not well-received by the conservative French society of his time. His work was considered scandalous and provocative and was frequently censored. Despite this, Molinier continued to produce his photographs, and he developed a small but devoted following among other Surrealist artists and intellectuals.
In addition to his photographs, Molinier was also a prolific painter and collagist. His paintings were often surreal and erotic in nature, and they often featured the same subjects and themes as his photographs. Molinier also created a number of collages, which he called “photocollages”, which were made by cutting and pasting together multiple photographs.
One of the most interesting aspects of Molinier’s work is the way in which he blurred the boundaries between the sexes. He often depicted himself as both male and female, and he used a variety of props and costumes to create a sense of androgyny. This was a radical departure from the traditional gender roles of the time and was a reflection of the growing interest in gender and sexuality in the 1960s and 1970s.
Molinier’s photographs have been the subject of numerous exhibitions and retrospectives in the years since his death. His work has been featured in shows at major museums and galleries around the world, including the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Tate Modern in London.
In conclusion, Pierre Molinier was a French photographer and painter who is best known for his erotic and Surrealist imagery. His photographs were highly personal and often featured himself as the subject, often in cross-dressing and fetishistic attire. He was heavily influenced by Surrealism and his work was considered scandalous and provocative during his time. Despite this, Molinier’s work is considered to be one of the earliest examples of queer photography and has been widely celebrated in the years since his death. His photographs, paintings, and collages are a valuable contribution to the world of art and continues to be appreciated by many.