THE ART OF BEAUTIFUL BLACK NOW

JULIEN COQUENTIN

French photographer Julien Coquentin recalls memories of his childhood, growing up in rural France, in his personal series entitled, Black Seasons. 

In autumn, as the days grow short, and dark shadows grow long, black is an increasingly predominant color, both in surrounding landscapes and interior spaces.

Coquentin grew up playing in the protected environments of forests and meadows, connecting with animals and their seasonal rhythms. He delighted in exploring their hiding places and secrets, as well as in creating his own.

“My black seasons are fields, peasants, the darkness of a church, the silence of the forest, mad dashes, and lowing of cattle, the inexorable passage of time between my fingers,” Coquentin explains.

The blacks in Coquentin’s images are rich and moody, serving to define the scenes and the moments captured more than any other color.

This series now contains several hundreds of photographs. They each tell stories. Initially, Coquentin created them to tell his young daughters about his own magical childhood, relating it to their own experiences. Coquentin is now turning them into a new Black Seasons book and exhibition. 

Each of Coquentin’s photos conjure memories his childhood and his family. He was particularly close to his now deceased grandmother, who remains essential to the frame of his Black Seasons stories. 

See more of Coquentin’s beautiful Black Seasons which continues to unfold as an ongoing series. 

Read more about Beautiful Black, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including  Cut to Beautiful Black Now, Black is More Beautiful Than You Think Now and Black is Beautiful & Delectable Now.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Kylli Sparre. Untitled.
2. Image: by Kylli Sparre. Untitled.
3. Image: by Kylli Sparre. Untitled.
4. Image: by Kylli Sparre. Untitled.
5. Image: by Kylli Sparre. When Impossible Ends.
6. Image: by Kylli Sparre. Mutual Forgetfulness.
7. Image: by Julien Coquentin. Dead Zone.
8. Image: by Julien Coquentin. Black Seasons.
9. Image: by Julien Coquentin. Black Seasons.
10. Image: by Julien Coquentin. Dead Zone.
11. Image: by Julien Coquentin. Black Seasons.
12. Image: by Julien Coquentin. Black Seasons.
13. Image: by Julien Coquentin. Black Seasons.
14. Image: by Julien Coquentin. Black Seasons.
15. Image: by Julien Coquentin. Black Seasons.
16. Image: by Kylli Sparre. Curious Ways.
17. Image: by BN App - Download now!
18. Image: by Julien Coquentin. Dead Zone.