Vive la Vie

Vive la Vie -- With his unique talent for capturing emotions using lenses, colors and words, artist Francois-Marie Banier inspires both his subjects and viewers to conquerir le reve (conquer the dream). Vive la Vie is an intimate monograph resulting from a collaboration between Banier and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg. Based on a series of sessions arranged by von Furstenberg with model Natalia Vodianova, the images are layered with visual and emotional complexity. By combining his various skills--photography, painting and writing--into individual artworks, Francois-Marie Banier creates narratives that compel both the eye and the mind. Vodianova exposes her true, unmasked self, creating a blank canvas on which raw womanhood is revealed, far from the stereotypes of fashion photography.