THE GREEN SAGA

Marika Green has just presented her "Green: photographic views. Images 1894-2010" exhibition at the Art Elysées modern and contemporary art fair in Paris. In it she retraces the Green family’s passion for image, no fewer than four generations embodied by Mia (1870-1949), a pioneer of photo-journalism in Sweden; Lennart (1913-2007), photographer and cameraman; Marika, actress and model; and the famous international star Eva Green.

The exhibition will be on again from 18th November to 24th December 2010 in the Catherine Houard Gallery in Paris. Prints and "vintages" will be on sale there.

Marika Green, how did you get the idea for this exhibition?
I never knew my grandmother Mia Green, as I was only six when she died. She lived in Haparanda in the great north of Sweden and I lived in Stockholm. I knew a little bit about photography from the past as my father worked as a cameraman in Stockholm and he left some photographs from when he settled in Paris in 1953. Recently, I was interested in my own past and discovering the photos of Mia on the web, it seemed obvious to me that I must find out more about the historic, very old and very pure images taken by my grandmother. Above all I knew about the photos taken by my father Lennart Green, dating from his time in Paris. But after his death in 2007 I discovered his photos from before the Second World War, artistic images with the value of documents. Settling in Paris forced him to sell photos to support his family, and so he worked for international magazines. The desire to put on an exhibition followed on quite naturally, with the aim being to show pictures taken by two photographers (behind the lens), Mia and Lennart Green, and two actresses and models (in front of the lens), myself having rubbed shoulders with the biggest names in photography from the sixties and my niece, Eva Green with those of today. In combining four generations of the Green family, a century of "photographic occupation", the saga could be told.

Did your father, Lennart Green, learn photography at his mother’s side?
My father was a little bored in the north of Sweden. He helped my mother in the laboratory. She sent him to Berlin to the Reimann Schule in 1936 where he studied cinema and photography. He loved the French language which he learned at university and left for Paris to visit the 1937 universal exhibition. He took a lot of photographs and met his wife there.

Your parents moved to Paris when you were ten. Your father immortalised the celebrities of the day such as painters, writers and singers for nearly 20 years before retiring to Brittany where he continued to practice his passion. Among the many images in this amazing portrait gallery we see you with Salvador Dali. What memories do you have of that period?
I remember that gallery of portraits very well but I hardly ever made it into the dark room. Sometimes I helped my father to rinse and dry the contacts, but that doesn’t make one a photographer. I posed a lot in front of his lens, for his tests and emulsions, but I was more interested in dancing. The meeting with Salvador Dali came naturally. I was on holiday with my parents in Cadaques in 1958. They were doing a report on him. Dali asked them if they knew someone with a face like the madonna. My mother told him that their daughter was sitting right there, outside on the deck of his Port Lligat home. He immediately took me on as the model and as a reward gave me his "Leda and the Swans" drawing. Very beautiful. For several years we saw each other twice a year between his trips from Port Lligat to New York. I met all the big names in music, art, etc. Dali wanted me to meet a "pygmalion" among his artistic luminaries! And then life continued without Dali.

Dance was your first passion. You started very early with the Stockholm Opera and continued with the Paris Opera until a talent scout spotted you and introduced you to the great French director Robert Bresson. He hired you for "Pickpocket" in 1959 where you played Jeanne, the leading female role. Did you ever dream of being an actress?
No, dancing was my goal. But being so tall (1m 77) prevented me from continuing with classic dancing, especially in France where dancers were very petite. And then my weight was a problem when it came to being lifted. I could have gone to New York to Balanchine, but Nico Papatakis appeared and introduced me to Robert Bresson.

 Very early in his career, Robert Bresson exclusively called on nonprofessional performers that they referred to as "models". By making them repeat phrases and gestures almost automatically the director wanted the performers to forget they were acting. He could then capture the real truth behind the characters. What impressions have you been left with from this experience with Bresson and this movie that was considered by many to be a pinnacle in film?
The work of an "actor" for "Pickpocket" was perfect for me at this point as I had no knowledge of acting as a profession. I still continued to take classes at the Academy of Dramatic Art but the teaching didn’t suit me. I didn’t like the Russian-American method of Stanislavski-Lee Strasberg from the Actor's Studio in New York. That’s why I have never been able to return to that French style of acting (boulevard theatre, commercial films). My style in fact is very Bressonian, minimalist, internalised, without effects.

You continued to take on film roles, notably that of Bee in the film "Emmanuelle" in 1974. At the same time you posed for the great photographers such as Helmut Newton, Peter Knapp, Henry Clarke, Jeanloup Sieff, Frank Horvat, Willy Rizzo and William Klein. What is your relationship with the camera?
Studio shots have never been my cup of tea. I was anxious, obsessed with movement and could not bear having to hold a static position! Something which annoyed the photographers. All the same I could suggest movement to them at the time. You can see it in some of the photos in the exhibition. I always had a good rapport with photographers but I must add that their attitude was generally rather authoritarian. But then the big names were artists and had a responsibility to deliver good photos as the magazine editors were very demanding.

If we go back to your family saga, the first two generations lived their passion behind the lens, whereas Eva Green and you are in front of it. Have you never been tempted to become a photographer yourself?
Yes, in the sixties. I was tired of being an instrument for photographers, editors, casting directors and directors – to be directed, "used", shown off, made-up, always in representation. But I wanted to specialise in children’s photography! And then the career took over and I let myself be "used".

If I’m right, you shot your last film in 1989, "Hanna at sea", directed by your husband Christian Berger. Do you dream of filming again, and have you ever been on stage?
No, I don’t want to be an actress anymore or only if a good director offered me suitable roles. That’s very rare. Special things in the theatre interested me: in 1968 "Le Valet" by Robin Maughan, with Yves Régnier and Raymond Gérôme; in 1979, "La Cantate à trois Voix" by Paul Claudel in the Roman abbeys of Paris and Normandy; in 1992, "La Voix Humaine" by Jean Cocteau in German in Innsbruck in Austria where I used body language (contemporary dance); and a theatrical piece with repetitive music (Terry Riley and Philip Glass), with lighting by Christian Berger.

Dance is still a passion for you. I believe that you have a short film project in the offing?
I will probably be filming with a student of film in Vienna in a busy shopping street. I will mix the artificial (dance) and the real, by offering to dance with passers by.

Our magazine focuses mainly on luxury real estate and contemporary art. What do you think of this marriage?
It’s a curious combination. It’s a question of capital: to buy. We all have a need to sell something. The artist can only exist and be recognised if they can sell what they have.

You live now in Vienna, Austria. Do you see a difference in real estate compared to France or other countries?
Obviously. Vienna is an extremely pleasant city to live in. The quality of life here is excellent, but it’s a small capital of around two million inhabitants. The artistic life here is of a high calibre, therefore it combines a very good standard of artistic design in a small area.

Are you ancient or modern in your choice of living space and decor?
I’m a mixture. I adore the contemporary combined with small items of old furniture, while leaving plenty of empty space. I have Scandinavian furniture from the fifties which is still very modern today. I have a few pictures hanging up or I change their position regularly. I live in a loft on the ground floor with a 200 m2 garden in the centre of Vienna. It’s exceptional. My border terrier Troll is very happy!

And when it comes to art, what are your leanings? Do you collect art?
I love Picasso and his blue period, Giacometti, Turner, Egon Schiele and others of course. But I am not a collector. I dont like being surrounded by too many things. They take up space and occupy the mind. I prefer to remain open to always having new objects.