Pierre Cordier

Pierre Cordier (born January 28, 1933 in Brussels), also known as the father of the chemigram, is a Belgian artist. He is considered the pioneer of the chemigram and of its development as a means of artistic expression.

Cordirn into a family of Franco-Belgian industrialists specializing in cosmetic products, including nail polish. When he was young he became interested in jazz. The improvisational freedom of this music is reflected in his works.

In 1952 he made an important acquaintance: Georges Brassens, the poet and singer, who was unknown at the time. He recorded and photographed him. Brassens left a deep influence on Cordier and encouraged him to continue exploring the "unfrequented steep road" that he had chosen.

After studying political science at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Cordier completed his military service in Germany in 1956. It was there that a new pathway opened up for him: the chemigram.

On November 10, 1956, writing a dedication with nail polish on photographic paper to a young German woman named Erika, Pierre Cordier discovered what he later called the chemigram. This technique, which "combines the physics of painting (varnish, oil, wax) and the chemistry of photography (photosensitive emulsion, developer, and fixer), without the use of a camera or enlarger, and in full light", became for him a source of experiments and a plastic language. It opened up a new visual space at the boundaries of painting, photography, and writing, allowing him "to create entrancing images impossible to realize by any other means. Working like a painter, he replaces the canvas with photographic paper." Alongside his visual research, he continued in his career as a professional photographer, finally abandoning it in 1967. Several important figures in the arts became interested in these new visual possibilities, among them Otto Steinert (1915–1978), professor and founder of the Subjektive Fotografie movement. Thanks to his encouragement, Cordier produced many chemigrams as well as photographic self-portraits. These works were exhibited in 1958 during the Subjektive Fotografie 3 exhibition in Cologne.

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